Design of a reel mechanism for control of an orbiting single tether system

The preliminary design of a reel mechanism for the control of the GetAway Tether Experiment (GATE) is presented. The GATE is now part of the Tether Dynamics Explorer series (TDE) and consists of a small subsatellite tethered to a large body (Delta II second stage). A reel mechanism is housed in the subsatellite and used as the primary means of attitude control of the tether and subsatellite. Concepts used for the implementation of control software are discussed, and preliminary testing procedures are described. Results showing the capability of the prototype are presented and discussed. >