A TECHNICAL OVERVIEW OF TSS-1 - THE 1ST TETHERED-SATELLITE SYSTEM MISSION

The Tethered-Satellite System (TSS) was developed to provide the capab ility of deploying satellites on long, gravity-gradient-stabilized tet hers from the Space Shuttle. Although TSS-1 achieved only limited resu lts because deployment was terminated at a distance of only 268 m, it did conclusively show that the basic concept of long gravity-gradient- stabilized tethers is sound, and it provided a unique set of data that will contribute significantly to future missions. In this context, it is important that the configuration, instrumentation, and results of the TSS-1 mission be documented. Here, we provide a brief overview of the TSS, the organization of its instrumentation, and its operations d uring TSS-1. Detailed descriptions of the various investigations and t heir specific instrumentation and measurement capabilities are given i n the papers that follow.