Multi-Application Survivable Tether

The Multi-Application Survivable Tether (MAST) experiment was an in-space investigation designed to use CubeSat spacecraft connected by tethers to better understand the survivability of tethers in space.[1] It was launched as a secondary payload on a Dnepr rocket on 17 April 2007 into a 98°, 647 x 782 km orbit. The MAST payload incorporated three picosatellites, named "Ralph," "Ted," and "Gadget," which were intended to separate and deploy a 1 km (0.62 mi) tether. The experiment hardware was designed under a NASA Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) collaboration between Tethers Unlimited, Inc. (TUI) (which is now part of the Arka Corporation)[2] and Stanford University, with TUI developing the tether, tether deployer, tether inspection subsystem, satellite avionics, and software, and Stanford students developing the satellite structures and assisting with the avionics design.[3]

The experiment is currently on-orbit.[needs update] After launch, as of 25 April 2007, TUI had made contact with the "Gadget" picosatellite, but not with "Ted", the tether-deployer picosatellite, or "Ralph," the end mass.[4]

  1. ^ Robert Hoyt, Jeffrey Slostad, and Robert Twiggs, "The Multi-application Survivable Tether (MAST) Experiment Archived 17 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine," paper AIAA-2003-5219 presented at the 39th AIAAA/SME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, Huntsville AL, July 2003
  2. ^ "Our Legacy". Arka. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  3. ^ "The MAST Experiment". Tethers Unlimited. Archived from the original on 10 November 2006.
  4. ^ "MAST Blog". Tethers Unlimited. Archived from the original on 8 October 2007.