Design and Robustness Analysis of a Wave-Based Controller for Tethered Towing of Defunct Satellites

A microgravity environment in space, the elasticity of the tether, and complex flexible appendages make the tethered-towing system a nonlinear and underactuated system, which is sensitive and difficult to stabilize. This letter develops a controller based on wave propagation for tethered towing of defunct satellites, and carries out a robustness analysis of the controller via numerical simulation.