Formation of a Rotating Tethered Space System for Operational Interception

It is proposed to descent from orbit large objects of space debris such as the spent stage of a launch vehicle (LV), hereinafter referred to as a target, using a rotating tethered space system (RTSS), the parameters of which are determined during the ballistic design of interception schemes. The Angara-1.2 LV, the Aggregate Module (AM) – an analogue of the space tug, and the Autonomous Docking Module (ADM) are included in the rocket space complex for target interception. The “AM + ADM” payload is launched by the Angara-1.2 LV into an elliptical target intercept orbit in the vicinity of the intended intercept point with a relative velocity of up to 300 m/s. When the tether is stretched, the motions of the AM and the bundle “ADM + target” are exchanged and the RTSS “AM + tether + ADM + target” is formed. The angular velocity of the rotation is determined by the length of the tether and the relative velocity of the AM and the “ADM + target”. For different values of the transversal and radial projection of the relative velocity, the minimum tether length is determined based on the condition of its integrity.