Final Project

Marisol V.

Legislator:  John Whitmire, Senator

The most EVA hours will be performed during the bolting and securing of the hatches on the modules during connection. I wanted to think of ways to make the process of assembling the International Space Station safer, easier, faster, and more cost efficient. Then, I remembered how I enjoyed bringing magnets together as a child to assemble play trains. I believe this process may also be used to assemble the modules of the International Space Station.  I propose the process of using electromagnets to unite the modules.  

To construct the electromagnets on the electromagnetic hatchets, wire would be coiled around alnico bars. An electromagnet is a magnet that is temporarily attracted to each other by the flow of electricity depending on the metal. The electromagnets constructed would have positive and negative charged particles. All magnets have north and south ends. The fundamental law of magnets is that opposites attract and likes repel. A magnetic field is generated around the wire and it is amplified when the wire is coiled.

There would be an attraction between the electromagnets because, once applying the electric current the atoms would rotate and align making a pattern of positive and negative sides. Since positive and negative electrons attract, the electric current would flow through the electromagnets on to the opposite hatchet. By turning on the electricity to those modules the wire would gain electricity/energy and the electromagnets would automatically be attracted to each other. Electricity for the electromagnets would be gained from the solar arrays and accelerators or generators.

Using this process, the EVA hours and time spent using the robotic arm during assembly would be cut in half since the modules would move together and connect from a distance. The electromagnets would be electrically controlled and the modules would be pulled into alignment with each other by one of the robotic arms. The many cylindrical electromagnets would have thousands of tightly bound wires. This would create an enormous force. It would have strength to pull the modules together at any distance and hold strong. I performed an experiment by making a small electromagnet. I wrapped 1000 coils around two iron rods (500 each) and connected the ends of the wires to a D cell battery. It had the strength to hold up 200 pounds, so the electromagnets on the ISS hatchets would have a tremendous force. The speedat which they come in contact with each other is important also. They cannot come in contact of each other at such a high speed, because they could crash while docking. The speed will be able to be regulated by turning the amount of electricity that is applied. The shorter process of attaching modules would now mostly consist of connecting cables, pipes, and fittings.

Alnico will be used because it has a high coercivity (it retains it’s magnetism well) and a high remenance (it can be magnetized strongly). This complex alloy metal makes a permanent magnet. The higher a material’s remenance, the stronger is its residual magnetism. The coercive force (or coercivity) of a substance is the strength of the magnetizing field necessary to reduce its remenant magnetism to zero. It is a measure of how well a material can retain its magnetism. Iron has a high remenance but a low coercivity, so it can be magnetized strongly but is easily demagnetized.  Iron is a soft magnet. Steel has a high coercivity but a low remenance, so it makes weaker magnets. Steel is a hard magnet.

It would be more simple and safer to use these hatchets, because if a part of the module becomes damaged or just needs fixing all that would have to be done would be to turn the power off to those modules, put the module in a transport vehicle, and ship it off to NASA for reconstruction. The modules would not be attracted to each other without the electricity, because the domains would return to their original position and the modules would detach from each other. These hatchets are most beneficial during major impacts. If one of the modules were to be hit by particles of micrometeoroids to the point where they pass all the way through the shell to expose the module to the vacuum of space the astronauts would have to get into their spacesuits and to either repair what they can or regain things that may have been lost.

If the spacesuits were to be in the module on the other side of the impacted one they could not pass through the damaged module to get to their spacesuits. That would expose them and the other module to the vacuum of space. If the electromagnet hatchets were to be used, the astronauts could just turn the electricity to those hatchets off and the modules would disconnect. Then the robotic arm would push the module from between the undamaged modules and they would be connected. A gasket sheet would also be needed over the ring of electromagnets to prevent air from being between the linked cylinder heads of the modules under pressure.

The astronauts could be trained on the process by taking a class on the science of the workings and visually seeing the process in action by either computer simulation or virtual reality. They could also do experiments with small models. It would not take much money to build the hatches and the astronauts would not have to train very much after the long years they have already trained and studied over everything else that happens in the assembling. It is a simple process to turn on the electricity and less time consuming.

The process of this being used in space would seem almost fictional, but the things I found about electromagnets, and how they work with electricity and magnetism is very much realistic. I believe my innovation could work for the assembling of the International Space Station efficiently. It would be safe, simple, and cost efficient.

Sources:

“Magnetism.” The World Book Encyclopedia of Sciences: Physics Today. Vol. 2. May 2001: 130-135.

How Stuff Works: Electromagnets. 1997. Inc. May 2001

<http://www.howstuffworks.com/electromagnet.htm>

Some Assembly Required. March 1999. Aerospace Scholars. May 2001

<http://aerospacescholars.org/scholars/earthstationmoon/chapter3/lesson3.htm

Last Updated: 09/07/01