Ground Experiment of Mechanical Impulse Method for Uncontrollable Satellite Capturing

Abstract

Keyword Space debris, on-orbit servicing, angular momentum dissipation, capturing, non-cooperative object, mechanical impulse, nutation, tumbling, X-Y-Z-θ stage, ground experiment. Abstract This paper describes robot operations for capturing a non-cooperative object on orbit. A method for reducing the angular momentum by means of repeated mechanical impulses is considered. Using numerical simulation it is shown that rotational motion such as nutation or tumbling can be reduced by providing a series of external, well-timed mechanical impulses. It is also shown that this method is robust against impulse errors. Because of uncertainties in the collision-force profile, ground experiments are conducted using a passive model satellite on an air table. The results of the experiments show that the nutation of the model satellite can be reduced by the mechanical impulse given by a linear actuator. A large scaled motion simulator, which consists of a X-Y-Z-θ stage and two 7DOF robot arms, was constructed in order to simulate some crucial operations such as fly-around, angular momentum dissipation and capturing.