• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Not so Lost in Space ; Nuke-Powered Tugs Would Put Errant Satellites Back on Track

Posted on: Wednesday, 14 July 2004, 06:00 CDT

Rescuers of mechanical gadgets in space are a rare commodity.

If a satellite launch fails -- which happens at a rate of about two per year -- it becomes multimillion-dollar space junk. There is no way to save it.

At least not yet.

New Mexico-based Sandia National Laboratories and Utah-based Iostar Corp. are developing a fleet of rescuers that could turn that junk back into gold: nuclear-powered space tugs that can latch on to rogue satellites and return them to their proper orbit.

"When a satellite launch fails, for whatever reason, the cost is typically $300 million to $450 million per satellite," said Roger Lenard, a Sandia scientist. "That's not chump change. Rescuing them would be a valuable service."

The tugs -- which look a little like Klingon Warbirds from "Star Trek" -- are about half the size of a football field. They would be able to maneuver in the atmosphere, carrying the extra fuel needed to move the satellites back into place, Lenard said.

Each tug could save about three satellites a year and generate about $500 million to $600 million worth of revenue per year, added Iostar CEO Robert D'Ausilio.

"The ability to save a satellite does two things," he said. "It gives the satellite a normal life, and at the same time it prevents collisions from future satellites by eliminating space junk."

The concept might sound far off, but the company could have its first tugs up and running in the next six years. Right now, Iostar is seeking investors to help it gather $15 million to pay the preparation cost to apply for a $1.5 billion federal loan that has been earmarked for the project, D'Ausilio said.

"Launch is 5 to 5 years from when that loan is approved, which should take six to nine months," he said. "It isn't really a technical issue. The technology seems to be coming together very well. It's more of a bureaucratic issue that we're waiting on. We need to be thorough and get all the proper approval and paperwork done."

Sandia has expertise in building nuclear propulsion systems, which are used by NASA for deep space missions such as the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter mission set to launch in 2012.

"For the kind of power we need to operate a craft like this, nuclear was really the only option," Lenard said. "We looked at both solar and chemical power first, but both made the craft too big, too heavy, didn't last long enough and cost too much to be economical -- other than that, they were perfect."

The tugs could make space less dangerous for astronauts and other satellites by removing space junk before it takes out delicate equipment in the atmosphere, Lenard said.

"There's a lot of debris up there from our 50 years or so of space activity," he said. "Part of the problem is if you have a satellite that didn't launch correctly, it may end up in an elliptical orbit that crosses other orbits. When that happens, it's only a matter of time before it causes a spectacular mess."

More News in this Category