Development Of A Ground Based Testbed For Studying The Libration Dynamics Of Orbiting Tethered Satellite Systems

Abstract

This paper discusses the development of a ground based experimental environment that can mimic the libration dynamics of tethered satellite systems. The setup consists of an Air-Bearing Inclinable Turntable (A-BIT), whose inclination and rotation rate can be adjusted independently. Appropriate scaling factors help compare the tethered system in the experiment to that in orbit, both of which experience vastly different magnitudes of forces. The two scenarios also differ in their physical parameters including the length of the tether, the mass of the satellite, and the tension along the tether. The scaling factors are used to compare the behavior of these two tethered satellite systems.