Input shaped large thrust maneuver with a tethered debris object

Abstract

In order to reduce the debris population in LEO, remediation is necessary. An active debris removal method is explored that utilizes fuel reserves on a recently launched upper stage to rendezvous with, and tether to, debris. The system's tethered dynamics are explored using a discretized tether model attached to six degree of freedom end bodies. The thrust output is shaped to remove the spectral energy at the natural frequencies of the tether, significantly reducing the post-burn relative motion between the vehicles. The sensitivity of the input shaping performance due to imperfect knowledge of the debris mass demonstrates that a double notch spanning multiple frequencies around the first mode is necessary to be robust to unknown debris mass. On-orbit simulations show that input shaping helps the tethered system achieve smooth oscillations about a gravity gradient alignment, reducing collision likelihood.