Microgravity Experiment for Attitude Control of a Tethered Space Robot

Abstract

A tethered space robot, which is connected to a mother spacecraft through a peace of tether, is a new space system proposed in the previous work. The tethered subsystem is envisioned to be a multi-body system for a robot, whose attitude can be controlled under tether tension by its own link motion. This paper discusses about microgravity experiment for a tethered space robot. Design and mechanism of the experimental device, required for the proposed attitude control, were explained. Also, link motion control algorithm was designed for the experimental device. Characteristics of the proposed attitude control were confirmed by microgravity experiment using a drop shaft, which can provide high quality microgravity condition during 4.5s.