Effects of Time Varying Moments on a Large Tethered Satellite in Orbit

The purpose of this book is to investigate the effect of a varying moment on the rotation angle of a large tethered satellite that is orbiting a planet. Two different types of orbits were investigated: a simple circular orbit and an elliptical orbit. Cases with zero and non-zero initial angular rotation velocity were investigated as well. This investigation will assist satellite docking missions. The large rigid tethered satellite is a futuristic concept and this investigation is meant to assist possible docking missions to the satellite. To simplify the problem the rotation is constrained to the orbital plane.