Abstract
In comparison with conventional thin-cylindrical tethers, tape-shaped tethers have obvious advantages in orbital applications such as electron collection, satellite deorbit, and reliability. There are many differences between them not only in appearance but also in dynamics. Hence, this paper studies the dynamics of a tape-shaped flexible tethered satellite during free deployment. First, an approximate model for the system, in which the tape-shaped tether is divided into a series of rigid elements connected by massless spherical joints, was structured. The bending stiffness of the tether was analyzed, and the tension force along the tether length direction was ignored. In particular, three types of constraint equations for rigid elements were built to help identify tether deployment. Then, the kinetic friction force between the tape-shaped tether and deployment device, as well as the atmospheric drag/lift on the system, were discussed. Finally, numerical simulations demonstrated that the deployment dynamics of the tape-shaped tethered system are sensitive to the bending stiffness, friction force, and orbital altitude.
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