Microgravity Experiment for a Tethered Space Robot

Tethered Space Robot (TSR), which is connected to a mother spacecraft through a peace of tether, is a new space system proposed in the previous work. Expected applications are satellite servicing, retrieval of debris, inspection of space structure, soft landing, and so on. TSR differs from the existing tethered systems. We envision the tethered subsatellite to be a multi-body system, whose attitude can be controlled under tether tension by its own link motion. Also, the tether is to be extended for a relatively short distance. For the purpose of a practical use, we perform a microgravity experiment. This paper especially focuses on the verification for the attitude control using a drop shaft. The attitude control of TSR, which had been confirmed by computer simulations, was verified by microgravity experiment.