Underway replenishment system for space vehicles

摘要

An underway replenishment system is used to deliver payloads and supplies to an orbiting receiving space vehicle. This system combines the advantages of the maneuverability of a delivering space vehicle with the large payload capacity of expendable launch vehicles to minimize payload delivery cost. Large payloads are launched into low orbit with expendable launch vehicles. A delivering space vehicle rendezvous with the independently launched payloads and assembles them into a payload stack. The receiving space vehicle located at a higher orbit deploys a tether towards the orbital path of the delivering space vehicle located at a lower orbit, and the tether is used to capture and retrieve the payload from the delivering space vehicle to the receiving space vehicle.