Research on dynamics and control of electrodynamic tether under aerodynamic drag

To realize orbit maneuver and suppress the libration independently of the electrodynamic tether through modulating the tether current, multi-segment structure is designed. The libration of the tether is analyzed in the presence of the aerodynamic drag, and the controllers are designed to suppress the libration caused by the eccentric moment and the initial disturbance. At last, the simulations are done to verify performance of the controllers. The results show that the tether under the aerodynamic drag is marginally stable; and the controller based on the multi-segment structure could accomplish the stability of the tether by use of a small current.