Asri-unix.754
net.space
utcsrgv!utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!ARPAVAX:C70:sri-unix!HPM@MIT-MC
Thu Feb 11 05:33:47 1982
Lunar synchronous satellites are possible at L4 and L5, which are
stable equilibria. They are also possible at L1 between the earth and
the moon, 58,000 km from the moon's surface and at L2 on the lunar
farside, 64,500 km from the farside. These are unstable equilibrium
and would require a small amount of station keeping (so is and
does geosynch orbit). The station keeping can be done away with
if you use a very thin thread that anchors the satellite to the
lunar surface! This would be a very minimal lunar skyhook. It
would be just strong enough to exert the tiny force needed to keep
the satellite from flying outwards when the satellite is placed
a (relative) gnat's eyebrow farther from the lunar surface than L1 or L2.
ref - Jerome Pearson, "Anchored Lunar Satellites for Cislunar
Transportation and Communication" J. Astronautical Sciences
ca. October 1977 (presented at the European Conf. on Space
Settlements and Space Industries, London, 20 Sept. 1977)
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