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USN 711327: Gravity Stabilization System Conception Art

USN 711327: Gravity stabilization system, Conception Art. This system employs the same principle that keeps the heavier side of the moon facing us is illustrated in this artist’s concept. A signal sent to the satellite commands the boom to extend after the satellite has been despun and is facing roughly downward while slowly turning the Earth’s magnetic field. When the boom which has a weight on its end, is deployed the satellite is kept in this position by the difference between the gravity forces acting on the satellite proper and on this weighted boom. At this point, the satellite is a swaying pendulum – like through about 40 degrees of an arc. Then a fine spring is automatically released to damp this remaining sway. Such a system has now operated perfectly in a Navy satellite according to its designers at the Applied Physics Laboratory of the John Hopkins University. The oscillations of the satellite have been damped to very low values and are continuing to reduce in value. Photograph released July 22, 1963. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Caption: USN 711327: Gravity stabilization system, Conception Art. This system employs the same principle that keeps the heavier side of the moon facing us is illustrated in this artist’s concept. A signal sent to the satellite commands the boom to extend after the satellite has been despun and is facing roughly downward while slowly turning the Earth’s magnetic field. When the boom which has a weight on its end, is deployed the satellite is kept in this position by the difference between the gravity forces acting on the satellite proper and on this weighted boom. At this point, the satellite is a swaying pendulum – like through about 40 degrees of an arc. Then a fine spring is automatically released to damp this remaining sway. Such a system has now operated perfectly in a Navy satellite according to its designers at the Applied Physics Laboratory of the John Hopkins University. The oscillations of the satellite have been damped to very low values and are continuing to reduce in value. Photograph released July 22, 1963. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Topic
  • Space Exploration
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  • Photograph
Wars & Conflicts
Navy Communities
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  • Image (gif, jpg, tiff)
Location of Archival Materials
  • National Museum of the U.S. Navy
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