Dynamics of reconfiguration and assembly of a stacked satellite system

Abstract

Separation and reconfiguration of stacked satellites in orbit is an effective method for constructing large space structures. This paper investigates the dynamics of a stacked satellite system (SSS) during the separation and reconfiguration process. Firstly, the dynamic model of the SSS is established via the natural coordinate formulation (NCF) to conveniently handle the time-varying constraints between satellites. Then, the separation and reconfiguration strategies are proposed for the SSS including the reconstruction step between two configurations. To ensure collision-free satellite assembly, a proportional differential (PD) controller combined with a potential function is introduced. Additionally, a docking mechanism is designed, considering collision force constraints during satellite docking assembly. Finally, several numerical simulations are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the separation and assembly strategies.