TY - JOUR

T1 - Dynamics and control of an electrodynamic tug

T2 - Transfer to the graveyard orbit

AU - Patel, I. K.

AU - Tikhonov, A. A.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 IAA Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/6/1

Y1 - 2021/6/1

N2 - Space debris transfer to the graveyard orbit is a promising solution for impact mitigation in geosynchronous orbits. This paper is a development on previous work done on the eponymous technique to capture and transfer the debris to graveyard orbit located at 200 km above geostationary orbit. Here, the focus is kept on studying the dynamics and control of the collector-debris system. The debris is assumed to be spherical in shape and composed of a magnetically susceptible material with properties of copper-aluminum alloy. The capture and transfer phase is realized by low-thrust transfer trajectory using electric propulsion engine as main thruster and two control thrusters for continuous actuation of relative position of debris. A feedback control law is developed to ensure that the debris remains at the desired equilibrium position during the transfer maneuver. Stability of the system is investigated using results drawn from numerical simulation. The results show how the choice of control coefficients affects the stability of the system.

AB - Space debris transfer to the graveyard orbit is a promising solution for impact mitigation in geosynchronous orbits. This paper is a development on previous work done on the eponymous technique to capture and transfer the debris to graveyard orbit located at 200 km above geostationary orbit. Here, the focus is kept on studying the dynamics and control of the collector-debris system. The debris is assumed to be spherical in shape and composed of a magnetically susceptible material with properties of copper-aluminum alloy. The capture and transfer phase is realized by low-thrust transfer trajectory using electric propulsion engine as main thruster and two control thrusters for continuous actuation of relative position of debris. A feedback control law is developed to ensure that the debris remains at the desired equilibrium position during the transfer maneuver. Stability of the system is investigated using results drawn from numerical simulation. The results show how the choice of control coefficients affects the stability of the system.

KW - Space debris removal

KW - Contactless method

KW - Lorentz force

KW - Electromagnetic induction

KW - Feedback control law

KW - Low-thrust transfer orbit

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85103932579&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/c174b03f-e347-3419-913c-96de8a963fd4/

U2 - 10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.03.024

DO - 10.1016/j.actaastro.2021.03.024

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85103932579

VL - 183

SP - 310

EP - 318

JO - Acta Astronautica

JF - Acta Astronautica

SN - 0094-5765

ER -