From: vince@offshore.ai (Vincent Cate)
Newsgroups: sci.space.tech
Subject: Re: Lunar Sample Return via Tether
References: <9186edb5.0312061749.206011fa@posting.google.com>
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Message-ID: <9186edb5.0312171554.5051ea55@posting.google.com>

vince@offshore.ai (Vincent Cate) wrote
> Starting with a 4500 Kg vehicle in LEO we use an ion-drive to go to the
> moon, spin up a tether (probably winching in and out 2 tethers), and start
> picking up samples when the end of the rotating tether touches the moon.  

In order to avoid spinning too fast when you are winching a sample in on
one tether, you let the other tether out on the other side at the same
time.  This stores up the angular momentum and gets the other tether 
ready to pickup a sample.

   -- Vince