Analysis of the Influence of Tether–Soil Interaction on the Attachment Trajectory of Small Celestial Body Detector

Multi-tethered spacecraft formation refers to a group of spacecraft that are connected by tethers. These spacecraft work together to perform tasks, such as encircling and capturing small celestial bodies. When the multi-tethered spacecraft formation is in the process of encircling and capturing smal...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Yuyan Pei, Yu Yang, Guoning Wei, Yanchen Li, Hao Tian, Yang Zhao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Aerospace
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/7/596
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849304132425351168
author Yuyan Pei
Yu Yang
Guoning Wei
Yanchen Li
Hao Tian
Yang Zhao
author_facet Yuyan Pei
Yu Yang
Guoning Wei
Yanchen Li
Hao Tian
Yang Zhao
author_sort Yuyan Pei
collection DOAJ
description Multi-tethered spacecraft formation refers to a group of spacecraft that are connected by tethers. These spacecraft work together to perform tasks, such as encircling and capturing small celestial bodies. When the multi-tethered spacecraft formation is in the process of encircling and capturing small celestial bodies, there is a significant risk of the tethers colliding with the soil (or surface material) of the small celestial body. Such a collision can affect the trajectory of the small celestial body detector. To address this issue, a coupled dynamic model has been proposed. This model takes the interaction between the tethers and the soil of the small celestial body into account. The discrete element method is used to establish the asteroid soil model, and the multi-body-tethered spacecraft system is simplified into a two-spacecraft system. The detector model is established by using the dual quaternion, and the tether model is established by using the chain rod model combined with the finite element method. Finally, a multi-condition simulation test is carried out. The results show that the influence of tether–soil coupling on the trajectory of the detector is mainly as follows: the influence of tether–soil interaction on the trajectory of the detector is mainly reflected in the displacement of the detector along the axial direction of the tether.
format Article
id doaj-art-76c8238b6eff4fd8b13a22dd668748d0
institution Kabale University
issn 2226-4310
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Aerospace
spelling doaj-art-76c8238b6eff4fd8b13a22dd668748d02025-08-20T03:55:49ZengMDPI AGAerospace2226-43102025-06-0112759610.3390/aerospace12070596Analysis of the Influence of Tether–Soil Interaction on the Attachment Trajectory of Small Celestial Body DetectorYuyan Pei0Yu Yang1Guoning Wei2Yanchen Li3Hao Tian4Yang Zhao5School of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, ChinaSchool of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, ChinaShanghai Xiaoyuan Innovation Center, Shanghai 201109, ChinaShanghai Xiaoyuan Innovation Center, Shanghai 201109, ChinaSchool of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, ChinaSchool of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, ChinaMulti-tethered spacecraft formation refers to a group of spacecraft that are connected by tethers. These spacecraft work together to perform tasks, such as encircling and capturing small celestial bodies. When the multi-tethered spacecraft formation is in the process of encircling and capturing small celestial bodies, there is a significant risk of the tethers colliding with the soil (or surface material) of the small celestial body. Such a collision can affect the trajectory of the small celestial body detector. To address this issue, a coupled dynamic model has been proposed. This model takes the interaction between the tethers and the soil of the small celestial body into account. The discrete element method is used to establish the asteroid soil model, and the multi-body-tethered spacecraft system is simplified into a two-spacecraft system. The detector model is established by using the dual quaternion, and the tether model is established by using the chain rod model combined with the finite element method. Finally, a multi-condition simulation test is carried out. The results show that the influence of tether–soil coupling on the trajectory of the detector is mainly as follows: the influence of tether–soil interaction on the trajectory of the detector is mainly reflected in the displacement of the detector along the axial direction of the tether.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/7/596small celestial body explorationmulti-tethered spacecraft formationtether dynamicssoil dynamicstrajectory analysis
spellingShingle Yuyan Pei
Yu Yang
Guoning Wei
Yanchen Li
Hao Tian
Yang Zhao
Analysis of the Influence of Tether–Soil Interaction on the Attachment Trajectory of Small Celestial Body Detector
Aerospace
small celestial body exploration
multi-tethered spacecraft formation
tether dynamics
soil dynamics
trajectory analysis
title Analysis of the Influence of Tether–Soil Interaction on the Attachment Trajectory of Small Celestial Body Detector
title_full Analysis of the Influence of Tether–Soil Interaction on the Attachment Trajectory of Small Celestial Body Detector
title_fullStr Analysis of the Influence of Tether–Soil Interaction on the Attachment Trajectory of Small Celestial Body Detector
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of the Influence of Tether–Soil Interaction on the Attachment Trajectory of Small Celestial Body Detector
title_short Analysis of the Influence of Tether–Soil Interaction on the Attachment Trajectory of Small Celestial Body Detector
title_sort analysis of the influence of tether soil interaction on the attachment trajectory of small celestial body detector
topic small celestial body exploration
multi-tethered spacecraft formation
tether dynamics
soil dynamics
trajectory analysis
url https://www.mdpi.com/2226-4310/12/7/596
work_keys_str_mv AT yuyanpei analysisoftheinfluenceoftethersoilinteractionontheattachmenttrajectoryofsmallcelestialbodydetector
AT yuyang analysisoftheinfluenceoftethersoilinteractionontheattachmenttrajectoryofsmallcelestialbodydetector
AT guoningwei analysisoftheinfluenceoftethersoilinteractionontheattachmenttrajectoryofsmallcelestialbodydetector
AT yanchenli analysisoftheinfluenceoftethersoilinteractionontheattachmenttrajectoryofsmallcelestialbodydetector
AT haotian analysisoftheinfluenceoftethersoilinteractionontheattachmenttrajectoryofsmallcelestialbodydetector
AT yangzhao analysisoftheinfluenceoftethersoilinteractionontheattachmenttrajectoryofsmallcelestialbodydetector