Motion control and its ground-based experiment of a tethered subsatellite with a controllable rigid arm

Abstract

The paper presents an experimental research on motion control of a ground-based tethered subsatellite with a controllable rigid arm between the subsatellite and the tether. The forces acting on the tethered subsatellite are first obtained through the dynamic similarity between the subsatellite and a tethered satellite orbiting the Earth. And then, an experimental system for simulating the tethered subsatellite is designed and elaborated in detail, including the airflow embranchment, the measuring and control subsystems, the power and communication subsystems, et al. Furthermore, the operating principle of the ground-based experimental system is illustrated, and the applicability of which is validated by a test of an on-orbit nonlinear optimal control problem. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.