<h2>AAS  96-203</h2><h2>POST DEPLOYMENT RECONTACT ISSUES FOR THE SEDS/SEDSAT MISSION</h2><h4>S. W. Evans, Marshall Space Flight Center</h4><h2> Abstract </h2>The Students for the Exploration and Development of Space Satellite (SEDSAT) will fly on a Space Shuttle in July 1997.  SEDSAT will transfer to its target orbit from the Shuttle orbit by means of a tether, using the Small Expendable Deployer System (SEDS).  This paper examines the safety issue of whether the SEDS tether will recontact the Shuttle following deployment.  For a nominal deployment no recontacts occur.  Recontacts can occur if a clip by debris takes place in the lower 6 km of the tether during the first 4 minutes after the first planned tether cut.<br><br>