A Quantitative Comparison of Several Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle Configurations for Satellite Repair/Replenishment.
Abstract
The history of spaceflight is full of examples of astronaut crewmembers returning damaged/malfunctioning spacecraft to an operational status. The recent Space Shuttle rescues of Solar Max, Westar and Palapa B-11 are perhaps the most dramatic of these. The current operational concept of servicing the target vehicle on board the shuttle however limits the potential number of spacecraft which can be reached. A potential solution is to use the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) that NASA is developing as a multi-role spacecraft. Use of the OMV has the potential of extending the reach of servicing to spacecraft beyond the range of the Shuttle. This paper examines three OMV/Servicer configurations, including both telepresence and manned version. The Analytic Hierarchy Process is used to rank order the alternatives for further study. A computer program was used to solve for the weights of the various measures of the effectiveness, and resulting priority vector was calculated. Preliminary results show the telepresence servicer rated highest, followed by the full environment manned system. Keywords: Space maintenance; Systems engineering; Theses.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA179106
Entities
People
- Joseph H. Cavallaro
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology