Research on autonomous motion flexible object capture technology
The escalating threat of space debris demands innovative solutions for active debris removal (ADR). This study proposes an autonomous maneuvering flexible body system integrating distributed propulsion modules with carbon nanotube-reinforced textile composites. A refined lumped mass-spring-damper dynamics model (spring stiffness k=2-8 N/m, damping coefficient c=0.2-0.5N·s/m) achieves<5% shape deviation during 0.5m/s<sup>2</sup> maneuvers, demonstrating 59.6% higher accuracy than conventional mass-spring models. A leader-follower collaborative control strategy (proportional gain <i>K<sub>p</sub></i>=0.8, derivative gain <i>K<sub>d</sub></i>=0.5) maintains 94.3% configuration retention under 10% thrust disturbances, validated through six-degree-of-freedom ground tests showing 0.32 m positioning error recovery within 6.8 s during single-module failures. Experimental results reveal the flexible structure's exceptional performance: 32g/m<sup>2</sup> areal density, 120J impact energy dissipation, and 23% atomic oxygen resistance improvement. The system enables multi-target capture across 10 m operational ranges, removing 200-300 debris targets per mission cycle in 600-800km orbits with 37% lower propellant consumption than robotic-arm solutions. With 87.6% fault tolerance during node failures and laser-assisted tracking capabilities for non-destructive encapsulation of hostile reconnaissance vehicles, this technology provides a scalable platform for sustainable space operations and spacecraft protection.
Authors
- Jinyong Fang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7246-0653)
- Chengren Zhao
- Jianjun Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5424-1497)
- Song Gu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5984-7519)
- Jing Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1062-3979)
- Yucai Dong
Institutions
- China Academy of Space Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Published
- 2025-09-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3081777
- Primary Topic
- Simulation and Modeling Applications
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00