2002 TECHNOLOGY VIDEOTAPES |
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Tape Title | Record ID |
Date Produced | TRT: |
Synopsis |
| FROM SKILLETS TO SPACE: TEFLON FUELS NASA
SATELLITE | G02-012 | 2/7/02 | 00:03:20 | A new generation of thrusters has been used to precisely
guide and point NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite in space,
paving the way for use of this technology on future spacecraft to
save weight, fuel and cut power consumption.
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TAPE CONTENTS: |
| ITEM (1): Teflon: From
Skillets to Space
- The Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPT) aboard EO-1 are a
unique electromagnetic propulsion system that uses solid bars of
Teflon as fuel. Pulses of electricity, lasting only one
one-thousandth of a second, are fired across each Teflon bar. Each
pulse turns a tiny amount of the Teflon into an electrically charged
gas that is accelerated out of the thruster. Each pulse has about the
same force as dropping a paper clip into the palm of your hand from
about one-half inch away. Because the PPT also uses electromagnetic
forces, it is three times more fuel efficient than conventional
chemical thrusters.
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| ITEM (2): EO-1
Spacecraft - NASA's Earth Observing-1 spacecraft is the first
to fly the smaller, lighter and more efficient new generation PPT.
Engineers used PPT as a precision attitude control actuator in space.
A single PPT unit with two opposing thrust nozzles controlled the
1166-pound spacecraft's pitch (up and down) axis for 4 hours as it
made several orbits of Earth.
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