Electrodynamic forces in tethered satellite systems. I. Systemcontrol

Part I of this work deals with the use of electrodynamic forces for control of tethered satellite system. A system formed by two massive end-bodies connected to each other by a current carrying tether is to be kept in an Earth-pointing orientation by means of joint actions of thrusters on one of the end-bodies and electrodynamic forces acting on the tether     

The gradual acceleration of the outflow of VX-Sagittarii: A stellar evolutionary effect?

VX-Sagittarii is a red supergiant with a superwind which is observed in several maser lines. They provide an evidence that the outflow velocity keeps growing considerably at large distance from the star. It is argued that this phenomenon can be explained by stellar evolutionary effects.As a rule, the outflow velocity for late type stars correlates with the mass loss rate and from that it is suggested that the mass loss rate was higher in the past and is decreasing now. The mass of VX Sagittarii can be estimated on this basis and is about 40–50M      

Uses of electrodynamic forces in tethered satellite systems. II.Orbit-transfer

Part II of this work presents electrodynamic forces used for orbit transfer. The system presented in Part I is to be transferred to a new orbit of a different radius while maintaining a nearly Earth-pointing orientation at all times. The maneuver is to be performed with electrodynamic forces without the use of thrusters. To accomplish this mission, the notion of synchronized impulses, that is, running electric current through the tether at precalculated instants and amplitudes, is presented