This article presents a compact tip-tilting platform designed for hardware-in-the-loop emulation of spacecraft relative dynamics and a physical setup for testing tethered systems. The architecture consists of a granite slab supported by a universal joint and two linear actuators to control its orientation. This configuration allows a Floating Spacecraft Simulator to move on the surface in a quasi-frictionless environment under the effect of gravitational acceleration. The architecture includes a dedicated setup to emulate tethered satellite dynamics, providing continuous feedback on the tension along the tether through a mono-axial load cell. By adopting the Buckingham “\pi” theorem, the dynamic similarity is introduced for the ground-based experiment to reproduce the orbital dynamics. Proof-of-concept results demonstrate the testbed’s capability to accurately reproduce the Hill–Clohessy–Wiltshire equations. Moreover, the results of the deployed tethered system dynamics are presented. This paper also details the system architecture of the testbed and the methodologies employed during the experimental campaign.
Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing of Spacecraft Relative Dynamics and Tethered Satellite System on a Tip-Tilt Flat-Table Facility / Governale, Giuseppe; Pastore, Armando; Clavolini, Matteo; Li Vigni, Mattia; Bellinazzi, Christian; Matonti, Catello Leonardo; Aliberti, Stefano; Apa, Riccardo; Romano, Marcello. - In: AEROSPACE. - ISSN 2226-4310. - 12:10(2025). [10.3390/aerospace12100884]
Hardware-in-the-Loop Testing of Spacecraft Relative Dynamics and Tethered Satellite System on a Tip-Tilt Flat-Table Facility
Governale, Giuseppe;Pastore, Armando;Clavolini, Matteo;Li Vigni, Mattia;Bellinazzi, Christian;Matonti, Catello Leonardo;Aliberti, Stefano;Apa, Riccardo;Romano, Marcello
2025
Abstract
This article presents a compact tip-tilting platform designed for hardware-in-the-loop emulation of spacecraft relative dynamics and a physical setup for testing tethered systems. The architecture consists of a granite slab supported by a universal joint and two linear actuators to control its orientation. This configuration allows a Floating Spacecraft Simulator to move on the surface in a quasi-frictionless environment under the effect of gravitational acceleration. The architecture includes a dedicated setup to emulate tethered satellite dynamics, providing continuous feedback on the tension along the tether through a mono-axial load cell. By adopting the Buckingham “\pi” theorem, the dynamic similarity is introduced for the ground-based experiment to reproduce the orbital dynamics. Proof-of-concept results demonstrate the testbed’s capability to accurately reproduce the Hill–Clohessy–Wiltshire equations. Moreover, the results of the deployed tethered system dynamics are presented. This paper also details the system architecture of the testbed and the methodologies employed during the experimental campaign.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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https://hdl.handle.net/11583/3003824
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