| Tether length | 4 kilometers |
| Tether nominal diameter | approximately 2 millimeters |
| Tether construction | The outer layer is Spectra 1000 braid for strength, the core is acrylic yarn which will puff the other braid out to the 2mm diameter and give it a larger cross section to improve its resistance to debris and small micrometeoroids. |
| Tether breaking strength | approximately 200 pounds |
| TiPS altitude/orbit | 552 nautical miles, circular
63.4° inclination |
| Total weight | 118 pounds |
| Weight of Ralph (lower end body) | 83 pounds |
| Weight of Norton (upper end body) | 23 pounds |
| Weight of the tether | 12 pounds |
| Stiffness of the tether | non-linear, see see Tether Stiffness Page - dead link |
| Mass Moment of Inertia of Ralph about Spin Axis | 4730 lbm in2 |
| Mass Moment of Inertia of Ralph about Transverse Axis | 3600 lbm in2 |
| Mass Moment of Inertia of Norton about Spin Axis | 1190 lbm in2 |
| Mass Moment of Inertia of Norton about Transverse Axis | 1010 lbm in2 |
| Laser retro-reflectors per end mass | 18 |
| Initial TiPS spin rate | 4 rpm |
| Deployment date | 20 June 1996 10:34 GMT |
| Time to deploy 4 km tether | 42 minutes |
This cut-away drawing shows the design of the TiPS spacecraft as it
is stowed on its host vehicle. The Marman clamp shown releases Ralph and
Norton from one another upon a signal from the timer. The timer is started
upon release of TiPS from the host vehicle by the segmented nut shown.
| Experiment Design, Build, Test, Integration | Naval Research Laboratory |
| Tether and Deployer | NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
Tether Applications Cortland Cable Company |
| Deployment Data System | NASA Marshall Space Flight Center |
| Transmitter | NASA Langley Research Center |
| Dynamics Analysis | Lockheed Martin Astronautics
Naval Research Laboratory Tether Applications |
| Flight Operations Lead | Naval Research Lab |
| Satellite Laser Ranging Management | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Naval Research Lab |
| Satellite Laser Ranging Operations | AlliedSignal Technical Services |
| RF Tracking and Orbit Determination | US Space Command |
| Telemetry Reception | Air Force Satellite Control Network |
| Tether Data Analysis | Naval Research Lab |
| Satellite Laser Ranging Stations | Starfire
Optical Range (SOR), Albuquerque, NM
Air Force Maui Optical Station (AMOS), Maui, Hawaii MOBLAS-4, Monument Peak, California MOBLAS-5, Yarragadee, Australia MOBLAS-7, Greenbelt, Maryland MOBLAS-8, Quincy, California McDonald Laser Ranging Station, Fort Davis, Texas Haleakala Observatory (HOLLAS), Maui, Hawaii Royal Greenwich Observatory, Herstmonceux, UK Orroral Geodetic Observatory,Orroral Valley, Australia GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Germany Wettzell, Germany Observatory Lustbuehel, Graz, Austria Riga, Latvia TLRS-3, Arequipa, Peru TLRS-2, Santiago, Chile Grasse, France |