Effects of Separation Strategy on Deployment of Multitethered Chain-Type Satellite System

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of separation strategy and parameters related to deployment on the dynamic behavior of multitethered chain-type satellite system. The system, including several satellites connected by tethers which are considered as massless and straight, is modeled as an extension of a two-body dumbbell tethered system. The dynamic equations of system in absence of perturbations and external disturbances are derived using Newtonian Method. To observe the effect of deployment rate on the motion of system, a parametric analysis of the deployment of a three-body tethered system with different deployment rates is carried out. Moreover, a four-body tethered system is used to investigate the effect of separation strategies on the dynamic behavior of system during the deployment phase. The numerical results suggest that the system with simultaneous separation costs less time to complete the deployment. If the ratio of deployment rates is in consistence with that of their desired lengths, the tethers deployed simultaneously would have a synchronous motion. It is also observed that the system employing separation bolt has a better performance than the system separated by spring mechanism since the larger separation velocity which is not along local vertical may cause a rotation.