Dynamics and configuration control of the Tethered Space Net Robot under a collision with high-speed debris

Abstract

The rapid increase of spacecraft and space debris is causing worry about the safety of spacecraft worldwide. The Tethered Space Net Robot (TSNR) is one of the efficient Active Debris Removal (ADR) tools, which cleans the debris and abandoned satellites with a maneuverable tethered net. Like other space vehicles, the safety of the TSNR during the ADR mission in crowded Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is a valuable topic. This paper focuses on collision dynamics and configuration control of the TSNR under collision with high-speed space debris. The debris breaks the local thread of the net and changes the structure of the TSNR. In addition, non-linear dynamics, input saturation, and disturbances caused by the collision make the control of the TSNR more challenging. The collision model has been improved to study the collision dynamics of the TSNR. An adaptive exponential convergence observer and an adaptive anti-windup sliding mode controller are designed to estimate the disturbance and control the configuration of the TSNR, respectively. Stability of the observer and the adaptive anti-windup sliding mode controller are provided by Lyapunov functions. Results show that the designed controller can effectively suppress the rebound of the net and control the configuration of the TSNR with bounded small inputs. This paper provides a reference for the collision dynamics and configuration control of the TSNR.