ANNOUNCING THE FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON TETHERS IN SPACE 2016!

Space tethers are an evolving, important, and enabling space technology with multiple applications in near Earth orbit, in interplanetary space, and around other planets.  The Tethers in Space 2016 conference will bring together the world’s experts in the field and those who wish to explore this important technology for 3 days of technical sessions, presentations, and one-on-one networking at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Space tethers are long cables that can be used for propulsion, momentum exchange, stabilization and altitude control, or maintaining the relative positions of the components of a large dispersed satellite/spacecraft systems.  Electrodynamic tethers can use solar power to ‘push’ against a planetary magnetic field to achieve propulsion without the expenditure of propellant for orbit raising, lowering, inclination change, and drag make-up.  Long non-conducting tethers can exchange momentum between two masses in orbit to place one body into a higher orbit or a transfer orbit for lunar and planetary missions.  Tethers can also be used to support space science by providing a mechanism for precision formation flying, fixed-baseline multi-point science observations, and for reaching regions of the upper atmosphere that were previously inaccessible.  Novel tether configurations that interact with the solar wind to provide deep space propulsion are also being studied.