Current and Future Development of the Annular Suspension and Pointing System

The Annular Suspension and Pointing System (ASPS) is a prototype space payload pointing and isolation mount, designed and built for NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) by Sperry Flight Systems (subsequently Honeywell Satellite Systems). Over the recent decade, magnetic suspension technology has continued to advance, notably in the area of control system design, such that performance improvements from an ASPSlike design are likely to be acheivable. In addition, new applications for magnetic suspensions are being investigated, where the existing ASPS hardware can provide a useful technology demonstration tool. In this paper, the existing ASPS design and hardware will first be described in detail. Next, some of the potential applications currently of interest will be discussed. Finally, the hardware developments completed, underway, or planned will be reviewed.