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Dynamic Behavior Analysis and Stability Control of Tethered Satellite Formation Deployment
Kangyu Zhang1, Kuan Lu1, Xiaohui Gu2
1Institute of Vibration Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710072, China.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|January 11, 2022
Summary
Tethered Space Systems (TSSs) face instability and harmful vibrations. This study proposes novel control laws for tether release rate and tension to suppress these vibrations, enhancing TSS stability and performance in space.
Area of Science:
- Aerospace Engineering
- Control Systems Theory
- Space Dynamics
Background:
- Tethered Space Systems (TSSs) offer advantages like fuel-less operation but suffer from instability and vibrations in complex space environments.
- Vibrations in TSSs are detrimental to spacecraft operation and mission success.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the nonlinear dynamic behavior of rigid-rod tethered satellite systems.
- To develop and validate control laws for suppressing TSS vibrations.
- To improve the attitude control accuracy and performance of TSSs.
Main Methods:
- Nonlinear dynamic analysis of a simplified rigid-rod tether model.
- Development of two stability control laws: tether release rate and tether tension.
- Application of Floquet theory for analyzing periodic stability of time-varying control systems.
- Numerical simulations to validate control strategies.
Main Results:
- Proposed control laws effectively suppress in-plane and out-of-plane librations of rigid tethered satellites.
- Achieved stability control for both the spacecraft and the tether.
- Obtained small parameter domains for asymptotically stable states.
Conclusions:
- The developed tether release rate and tether tension control laws are effective in suppressing a wide range of TSS vibrations.
- These control strategies significantly improve TSS attitude control accuracy and performance, particularly for systems in low-eccentricity orbits.
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