Technical Verification Satellite “STARS” for Tethered Space Robot

The Space Tethered Autonomous Robotic Satellite (STARS) is being developed in Kagawa University and it will be launched by the H-IIA rocket by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in summer 2007. The main purpose of the STARS is technical verification for a tethered space robot proposed in 1995. The STARS consists of mother and daughter satellites connected by tether. The mother satellite deploys tether having the daughter satellite, which is a tethered space robot. Attitude of the daughter satellite is controlled by its own arm link motion, and the camera mounted on the daughter satellite takes a picture of the mother satellite during deployment. The STARS requires following techniques: (I) short tether deployment by initial velocity given by the mother satellite; (II) attitude control of the daughter satellite by its own link motion; (III) taking a picture of the mother satellite by the daughter satellite during tether deployment; (IV) inter satellite communication for cooperation control of tether deployment by the mother satellite and arm motion by the daughter satellite.