Advances in dynamics and control of tethered satellite systems

Abstract

The concept of tethered satellite system (TSS) promises to revolutionize many aspects of space exploration and exploitation. It provides not only numerous possible and valuable applications, but also challenging and interesting problems related to their dynamics, control, and physical implementation. Over the past decades, this exciting topic has attracted significant attention from many researchers and gained a vast number of analytical, numerical and experimental achievements with a focus on the two essential aspects of both dynamics and control. This review article presents the historic background and recent hot topics for the space tethers, and introduces the dynamics and control of TSSs in a progressive manner, from basic operating principles to the state-of-the-art achievements.

Anti-sway control of tethered satellite systems using attitude control of the main satellite

“…(5). It should be noted that potential energy term due to gravity gradient of the rigid satellite is small comparing to the term caused by the tether, so it is not considered in the potential energy [28].…”

“…A complete review of recent works on dynamics and control of these systems is presented in [1,[4][5][6][7][8][9].…”

Space Tether Deployment Control with Explicit Tension Constraint and Saturation Function

“…The system of concern is modeled as a dumbbell model consisting of a main satellite and a subsatellite connected by a straight tether with variable length l, where the tether is simplified as a massless and inextensible wire and the satellites are simplified as two lumped masses [4]. The attitude dynamics of satellites and the tether flexibility are neglected in the dumbbell model.…”

“…However, a stable and fast tether deployment is not easy to achieve simultaneously because the libration of the tether can grow dramatically due to the effect of the Coriolis acceleration [4]. Also important to note is how to apply the control action to the system.…”

“…Besides, the limited actuating and sensing resources available for space tether systems bring additional complexity to the controller design. As summarized in review articles [2][3][4], enormous efforts have been made to gain an insight into the complicated dynamics and control of space tether systems over the past decades.…”