An attitude control system for the deployment and stabilisation of a tethered dual CubeSat mission

The use of electrodynamic tethers on-board satellites is a promising scientific prospect. While the theory describing such systems have been studied by numerous scientists and mathematicians, practical testing of these systems have been relatively unsuccessful and test data concerning the topic is limited. Low-cost CubeSats offer a cheap platform from which practical tests can be done which would contribute to advancements in the field. The design of an attitude determination and control system for such a CubeSat tether mission is discussed in this paper. This includes the design of a sensor capable of measuring the orientation of the tethered CubeSat pair using a CMOS imager. Further, the study includes the design of an active deployment system, mathematical modeling of the system, formulation of control-algorithms for controlling the tether-orientation, and full orbital simulations of the system.