AAS 98-101

IDENTIFICATION AND ORBIT DETERMINATION OF TETHERED SATELLITE SYSTEM

S. Cho, J. E. Cochran, Jr., D. A. Cicci - Auburn University

Abstract

Orbital motion of a tethered satellite system, composed of two satellites and the tether, is considered by using a perturbed two-body model. This approach is adopted so that the determination of the orbit of one of the satellites can be attempted without using observations of the motion of the other satellite in the system. A method of identification based on observations of only one of the bodies in the tethered satellite system is also described. The characteristics of the "tether perturbed" motion of the observed satellite are investigated.

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