A Novel Non-cooperative Target Capture Tool for Defunct Satellite

With the increase of defunct satellites, the orbit resource of the Earth is becoming more and more shortage. As one of the key technologies, the capture of non-cooperative targets has become a research hotspot. Due to its obvious characteristics, easy identification, high strength and high stiffness, the Launch Adapter Ring (LAR) has become a capture object on the defective and tumbling satellite. In this paper, a novel LAR capture tool is developed, and the LAR capture tool is designed, manufactured and tested. In order to improve the probability of grasp, the direct drive was adopted. The main research contents are as follows: overall design of the capture tool, design of electromagnetic brake, analysis of kinematics, and test the prototype.