A three-mass tethered system for micro-g/variable-g applications

Abstract

Abstract - This paper describes a Space-Station-attached tethered system for micro-g/variable-g applications. The system consists of three platforms: the Space Station, an end mass anchored at the end of a 10-km-long kevlar tether, and a micro-g/variable-g laboratory with the capability of crawling along the tether. Control strategies are devised for performing both the deployment and the stationkeeping maneuvers of the system. Effective algorithms are identified for damping out the major oscillations of the system.