Contact Behavior Analysis for Space Debris Capture by Space Robots Considering Non-smoothness

Abstract

This research describes the contact behavior of grasping space debris using two robotic arms, which has become a recent issue. Objective is to grasp rotating space debris, and to consider the effects of multi-point simultaneous contact and resulting friction during grasping. In order to accomplish this objective, a contact representation method for a circular object assumed to be space debris is defined, and apply a non-smooth dynamic method that reduces the contact and friction behavior analysis to a linear complementarity problem. Furthermore, an analytical model is developed to evaluate the effect of non-smooth behavior on the contact force, as well as its impact on the chaser satellite during the process of capturing a rotating space debris target satellite.