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SEDS -2 Small Expendable Deployer System |
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| SEDS-2 was launched on the last GPS Block 2 satellite launch on March 9, 1994. SEDS-2 used feedback braking starting early in deployment. This limited the residual swing after deployment to 4°. Mission success was defined as deployment of at least 18 km, plus a residual swing angle <15°. The payload returned data for 10 hours until its battery died; during this time tether torques spun it up to 4 rpm. The 19.7 km tether was left attached to the Delta to determine long-term tether stability and micrometeoroid risks. The tether suffered a cut 3.7 days after deployment. The payload end reentered within hours, but the 7.2 km length at the Delta end survived with no apparent further cuts until re-entry on May 7, 1994. Surprisingly, the tether was an easy naked eye object when front lit by the sun and viewed against a dark sky. Intensified videos were made of 20 + passes over a 7 week period; all showed the tether stabilized near the vertical, even after the cut when tension was <4 grams. |
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SEDS-2
Team. 
Delta
II Launch Vehicle poised for launch.
SEDS-2 night launch on Delta II .
SEDS-2 as seen by the optical telescope Kwajalein.