Orbital capture using space tether technology

The current method of orbital capture is at the cost of propellant, but the propellant is a scarce and irreproducible commodity on board. To resolve this problem, the method of using space tether technology for orbital capture is studied. First, according to system dynamic model, the formulas of the orbit positions and velocities of the master-satellite and sub-satellite are derived; the necessary conditions to realize the change of satellite orbit plane are proposed. Then, the effect of the tether parameters on orbit inclination is analyzed qualitatively. Finally, employing simulation cases, the change of the orbit inclination is analyzed quantitatively. Results show that the effect of the out-of-plane angular velocity on the inclination is more obvious than other tether parameters, the bigger the angular velocity, the more the inclination changes. But the tether tension increases with the inclination; thus the constraint of the of tether force on the orbit inclination should be considered.