Analysis of the space debris objects nozzle capture dynamic processed by a telescopic robotic arm

Abstract

The paper considers a new layout of a two-stage spacecraft designed to remove a group of large space debris objects such as the upper stages of ‘Zenit’ launch vehicles from low-earth orbit. The aim of the work is to preliminarily quantify the parameters of the shock-absorbing system of the robotic arm designed for capturing a redundant upper stage by the main rocket engine nozzle. The estimation will be conducted by means of numerical simulation of the motion dynamics of the "spacecraft - space debris object" system. The paper presents the results of calculating the transient mode of oscillations of objects connected by the manipulator using simplified and detailed dynamic models of parameters, the analysis of the placement options for the manipulator shock-absorbing system, the analysis of the load reduction possibility through the use of attitude control thrusters, the analysis of two dynamic design variants of the mechanism for grabbing the critical section of the nozzle, and analysis of the capture dynamics at different initial angular velocities of rotation of a space debris object. The most rational shock-absorbing solution for a robotic arm with two translational and two rotary dampers is found. It is shown that the dynamic design of the nozzle capture mechanism has the greatest effect on the robotic arm loading. The kinematic design of the gripper selected as a result of the simulation almost completely eliminates shock loads in the process of damping the system vibrations. It is shown that the robotic arm shock-absorbing design has a significant margin for the initial angular velocity of the space debris object.