Analysis of motion stability of a deployed space tether system with an atmospheric probe

Abstract

The stability of motion of a space tether system with an atmospheric probe is investigated in the paper. The equilibrium position stability of a space tether system near the local vertical (static stability) and deployment stability (dynamic stability) is studied. A tether system consists of spacecraft from which the tether is deployed and an atmospheric probe. The Lagrangian method is used to derive a dynamic model of the tether systems motion in a mobile orbital system of coordinates considering aerodynamic forces acting on the spacecraft and the probe. The conditions of tether system motion stability with respect to the local vertical are determined. Analytical analysis is confirmed by numerical examples.

Keywords

• space tether system
• atmospheric probe
• static stability
• dynamic stability
• stability conditions
• phase plane approach
• numerical analysis