Tetherline system for orbiting satellites

Abstract

A system for tethering one orbiting space vehicle to another was designed so that a tetherline between the vehicles is controlled by a motorized reel which in turn is controlled to deploy, retrieve, or maintain a constant line length while effecting a stabilizing influence on the line. This is accomplished by applying a tension to the line which takes into account the instantaneous length of the line, rate of change of the length of the line, and certain constants which vary depending upon the mode of operation, deployment, retrieval, or station keeping.