Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Orbital radius keeping of floating partial space elevator in cargo transposition

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Astrodynamics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A floating partial space elevator (PSE) is a PSE with a floating main satellite. This work aims to keep the orbital radius of the main satellite of a floating PSE in cargo transposition without the use of thrusts. A six-degree-of-freedom two-piece dumbbell model was built to analyze the dynamics of a floating PSE. By adjusting the climber’s moving speed and rolling of the end body, the main satellite’s orbital radius can be kept. A novel control strategy using a proportional shrinking horizon model predictive control law containing a self-stability modified law is proposed to stabilize both the orbital and libration states to regulate the speed of only the climber. Simulation results validated the proposed control strategy. The system provides a successful approach to the desired equilibrium by the end of the transposition.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Aslanov, V. S., Ledkov, A. S. Dynamics of Tethered Satellite Systems. Woodhead Publishing Limited, 2012.

  2. Cosmo, M. L., Lorenzini, E. C. Tethers in Space Handbook. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, USA, 1997: 224.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Jung, W., Mazzoleni, A. P., Chung, J. Dynamic analysis of a tethered satellite system with a moving mass. Nonlinear Dynamics, 2014, 75(1–2): 267–281.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  4. Shi, G. F., Li, G. Q., Zhu, Z. H. Libration suppression of moon-based partial space elevator in cargo transportation. Acta Astronautica, 2020, 177: 96–102.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Shi, G. F., Zhu, Z. X., Zhu, Z. H. Parallel optimization of trajectory planning and tracking for three-body tethered space system. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2019, 24(1): 240–247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Shi, G. F., Li, G. Q., Zhu, Z. X., Zhu, Z. H. A virtual experiment for partial space elevator using a novel high-fidelity FE model. Nonlinear Dynamics, 2019, 95(4): 2717–2727.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Shi, G. F., Zhu, Z. X., Zhu, Z. H. Libration suppression of tethered space system with a moving climber in circular orbit. Nonlinear Dynamics, 2018, 91(2): 923–937.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Misra, A. K. Attitude dynamics of three-body tethered systems. Acta Astronautica, 1988, 17(10): 1059–1068.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  9. Lorenzini, E. C., Cosmo, M., Vetrella, S., Moccia, A. Dynamics and control of the tether elevator/crawler system. Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 1989, 12(3): 404–411.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Cohen, S. S. The effect of climber transit on the space elevator dynamics. Acta Astronautica, 2009, 64(5–6): 538–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Woo, P. Dynamics of a partial space elevator with multiple climbers. Acta Astronautica, 2010, 67(7–8): 753–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Williams, P. Dynamic multibody modeling for tethered space elevators. Acta Astronautica, 2009, 65(3–4): 399–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Ishikawa, Y. Effects of ascending and descending climbers on space elevator cable dynamics. Acta Astronautica, 2018, 145: 165–173.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Kojima, H. Mission-function control of tethered satellite/climber system. Acta Astronautica, 2015, 106: 24–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Zhong, R., Zhu, Z. H. Optimal control of nanosatellite fast deorbit using electrodynamic tether. Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 2014, 37(4): 1182–1194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Xu, S. D. A fuzzy control scheme for deployment of space tethered system with tension constraint. Aerospace Science and Technology, 2020, 106: 106143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Rao, H. P., Zhong, R., Li, P. Fuel-optimal deorbit scheme of space debris using tethered space-tug based on pseudospectral method. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 2021, 34(9): 210–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Mesmer, F., Szabo, T., Graichen, K. Embedded nonlinear model predictive control of dual-clutch transmissions with multiple groups on a shrinking horizon. IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, 2019, 27(5): 2156–2168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Sun, Z. Q., Xia, Y. Q., Dai, L., Campoy, P. Tracking of unicycle robots using event-based MPC with adaptive prediction horizon. IEEE/ASME Transactions on Mechatronics, 2020, 25(2): 739–749.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Kang, J. J., Zhu, Z. H., Santaguida, L. F. Analytical and experimental investigation of stabilizing rotating uncooperative target by tethered space tug. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 2021, 57(4): 2426–2437.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Kang, J. J., Zhu, Z. H. Passivity-based model predictive control for tethered despin of massive space objects by small space tug. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 2022, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/TAES.2022.3197097.

  22. Shi, G. F. Stable orbital transfer of partial space elevator by tether deployment and retrieval. Acta Astronautica, 2018, 152: 624–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (12102487), Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2019A1515111056), and Discovery Grant (RGPIN-2018-05991) of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, China

    Gefei Shi

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, 4700 Keele Street, Toronto, Ontario, M3J 1P3, Canada

    Zheng H. Zhu

Authors
  1. Gefei Shi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zheng H. Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gefei Shi.

Ethics declarations

The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the contents of this article.

Additional information

Gefei Shi received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi’an, China, in 2007, 2011, and 2019, respectively. He is currently an associate professor with the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sun Yat-sen University. His research interests include dynamics and control of tethered space systems, partial space elevators, and underactuated control.

Zheng H. Zhu (M’09–SM’12) received his B.Eng. degree in engineering mechanics, M.Eng. degree in solid mechanics, and Ph.D. degree in computational mechanics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, and M.A.Sc. degree in robotics and Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto in Canada, respectively. He is currently a professor and Tier I York Research Chair in Space Technology at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, Canada. He has authored more than 187 peer-reviewed journal articles. His current research interests include dynamics and control of tethered space systems and visual servo space robotics for active space debris removal. Dr. Zhu is a College Member of Royal Society of Canada, Fellows of Canadian Academy of Canada, Engineering Institute of Canada, CSME and ASME, the Associate Fellow of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the Academician of International Academy of Astronautics, Senior Member of IEEE, and licensed Professional Engineer.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shi, G., Zhu, Z.H. Orbital radius keeping of floating partial space elevator in cargo transposition. Astrodyn 7, 259–269 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-022-0156-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-022-0156-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation