This research is devoted to the problem of delivering a small payload to the Earth from the orbit using an orbital space elevator, which consists of two space stations connected by a massless tether and a passive climber moving along the tether. The aim of the work is to study the possibility of transferring the climber from one end of the orbital elevator to the other end due to its initial velocity. The mathematical model of the mechanical system is constructed using the Lagrange equation of the second kind. An analytical expression, which depends on the parameters of the mechanical system and determines the required initial velocity, was found using a simplified mathematical model that does not take into account the bending of the tether. The validity of the expression was verified using the mathematical model. The analysis of the system motion was carried out, and recommendations on its mass-geometric parameters choice were given.

No abstract

The motion of a space tether system, consisting of a constellation of two microsatellites and a space station, is investigated. The station moves in a circular undisturbed circular lunar orbit. The process of deployment of tethers to bring the system into a working near-vertical condition is considered. A program for controlling the tether tension force that ensures the deployment of tethers to the required length and stabilizes the system in the vertical position is proposed. A study of the stability of the equilibrium position of a mechanical system is carried out. It is shown that the motion carried out during the deployment of a tethered system according to the program proposed in the work is asymptotically stable.

The development of space transport systems for the delivery of payloads and the study of the lunar surface is an important scientific and technical challenge. The article considers a near-lunar space tether system consisting of a station and a microsatellite. The station is considered as a rigid body having a cylindrical shape, and the microsatellite is considered as a spherical rigid body. The tether is considered as a weightless inextensible rod of variable length. The station moves in a near-lunar orbit, which is influenced by the Earth's gravity. The process of deployment of a radially directed near-lunar tether system is considered. The equations of motion of the space tether system are obtained using Newton's second law and the theorem on the change in the angular momentum. To release the tether and bring the orbital tether system to a working state, the article proposes to use the control program of tethers tension force, which ensures the deployment of the tether system to a position close to the vertical. A comparison of the motion of the tether system along the unperturbed lunar orbit and along the perturbed one, taking into account the gravitational influence of the Earth, is made. To substantiate the theoretical results, a numerical simulation was carried out, based on the results of which a conclusion was made about the influence of the Earth's gravity on the amplitude of oscillations of the microsatellite relative to the local vertical.