Releasing Dynamics and Stability Control of Maneuverable Tethered Space Net

The issue of space debris capture and removal has become extremely urgent, due to the huge amounts of passive (or active) space debris along operational orbits. As a promising solution, space tethered net is low cost and executable. Based on this kind of nonmaneuverable space net, a new solution for space debris capture and removal is proposed in this paper, named maneuverable tethered space net (MTSN). We first describe the structure of the MTSN in detail, and then give a typical mission scenario. Then, the kinematics and dynamics model of the MTSN is derived under some basic conclusions of single space tether. An appropriate initial condition is decided after the analysis of releasing characters, including folding pattern, shooting angle, and shooting velocity. Considering the longitudinal elasticity of tether and the uncertainties from space environment, an adaptive second-order supertwisting sliding mode control scheme is employed for the stability control of the MTSN. Finally, we verify the controller by both theoretical proof and numerical simulations.