Abstract
The ground-based experiment of a tethered satellite system becomes increasingly important in order to get an insight into its dynamics and control. With the accurate modeling for a ground tethered satellite, however, it necessary to deal with the undetermined parameters in dynamics model. The vast majority of the physical parameters are to be identified by experiment. This paper presents a parameter identification method for ground experiment of an in-plane tethered satellite with attitude motion, according to the acquired responses of system states. The 2D micro-gravity motion of the tethered satellite is simulated by using a simulator floating on air-floating platform. The kinematics and dynamics similarity between the ground-based experiments and the on-orbit system is studied first. Then, the Model Reference Adaptive Control (MRAC) method is employed to identify some uncertain or immeasurable parameters in dynamics model of the tethered satellite system with attitude control, due to air bearing and micro-gravity deviation caused by the slight inclination of the platform. The design of experimental system for dynamics simulation is illustrated, including its components, operating mechanism and calibration results. Finally, the ground-based tests are conducted to verify the proposed identification scheme.
