{
  "patent_number": "US 7503526",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "A Rotating Space Station for Catching and Launching Cargo",
  "original_title": "Space transportation node including tether system",
  "summary": "A patent for a rotating space station that uses long, extendable cables to catch and release cargo payloads while orbiting a planet.",
  "what_it_does": "The system features a large, rotating truss structure that orbits a celestial body, such as Earth. At each end of this truss, a tether tip is attached via a cable that can be reeled in or out. This allows the station to act like a spinning arm, where the tether tips extend to grab or release payloads—like fuel tanks or cargo—while the station continues its rotation. The system also includes mechanisms to adjust its center of mass and even repair itself if a tether cable snaps, using distributed sub-nodes that can maneuver to fix the break.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "Does not cover stationary space stations that do not utilize rotating tethers for payload transfer.",
    "Does not cover general satellite deployment methods that do not involve the specific truss and tether reel mechanism described.",
    "Does not cover ground-based launch systems that operate independently of the orbiting tether node."
  ],
  "filed": "2005-09-23",
  "granted": "2009-03-17",
  "expires": null,
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Individual",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/individual",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Robert A. Citron",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/robert-a-citron"
    },
    {
      "name": "Thomas C. Taylor",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/thomas-c-taylor"
    },
    {
      "name": "Walter P. Kistler",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/walter-p-kistler"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 18,
  "tags": [
    "aerospace",
    "mechanical"
  ],
  "abstract": "A transportation node system orbits a celestial body. The node system includes a truss having two ends, the truss rotating around its center of mass while orbiting the celestial body. The truss stores payloads. The node system also includes tether tips, each attached to one end of the truss via a tether so that each tether tip can extend from the truss and retract to the truss for transfer of payloads. The tether runs through the length of the truss and connects to each tether tip, each tether tip being capable of engaging payloads. The node further includes at least one tether cable reel that reels in and reels out the tether so the tether tips can extend from and retract to the truss.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7503526/supersonic-retropropulsion",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/7503526/supersonic-retropropulsion/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US7503526",
  "relatedPatents": []
}