| US 7,445,182 B2 | ||
| Apparatus with helical tension cables for ejecting a spin-stabilized body from a spacecraft | ||
| Horst Koehler, Bremen (Germany) | ||
| Assigned to EADS Space Transportation GmbH, Bremen (Germany) | ||
| Filed on Dec. 15, 2005, as Appl. No. 11/305,430. | ||
| Claims priority of application No. 10 2004 063 116 (DE), filed on Dec. 23, 2004. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2006/0138283 A1, Jun. 29, 2006 | ||
| Int. Cl. B64G 1/22 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 244—173.3 | 19 Claims |
| 1. An apparatus for ejecting a spin-stabilized flying body from a spacecraft, said apparatus comprising:
a first ring element to be releasably engaged with the flying body;
a second ring element to be secured to the spacecraft, wherein said second ring element has an open inner diameter corresponding
to or larger than an outer diameter of a portion of the flying body to allow the portion to be inserted through said open
inner diameter of said second ring element;
a plurality of cable winding devices mounted on at least one of said first and second ring elements;
a plurality of tension cables extending between and interconnecting said first and second ring elements, wherein each respective
one of said tension cables has one cable end thereof connected to and selectively wound-up on a respective one of said cable
winding devices mounted on one of said ring elements and another cable end thereof connected to the other of said ring elements
not having said respective cable winding device mounted thereon;
a plurality of holding elements mounted on said second ring element and adapted to selectively hold the flying body; and
a plurality of guide elements mounted on said second ring element and adapted to position and guide the flying body within
said open inner diameter of said second ring element.
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