Adaptive control of an orbiting single tether system

The tethered satellite system (TSS) is a shuttle-based system that consists of a subsatellite connected by a single tether to a boom/reel mechanism located in the orbiter payload bay. A control law for the TSS, based on universal adaptive control (UAC) techniques, is developed. A nonlinear model of the TSS is formulated so that the linear controller can be evaluated, and comparison is made with results obtained with alternate control laws. Advantages of the UAC include its design simplicity and the fact that the specific TSS model is never used. Simulation results for the closed-loop system for the station-keeping mode with various-length trajectories show the feasibility of the method.<
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