Three-dimensional deployment of cable nets for active removal of space debris

Deployable cable nets are promising capture systems for the active removal of space debris. We propose a finite element model of the cable net with lumped nodal masses and first-order cable elements. The nodal positions are assumed as the main unknowns of the problem. Large displacements and finite deformations are considered through the Green-Lagrange strain tensor. Cable elements are assumed to react only in tension through a hyper-elastic constitutive law. The governing equations are solved numerically by means of the Runge-Kutta method with variable time step. As an example, the three-dimensional deployment is simulated of a planar, square-mesh net. The proposed approach turns out to be computationally effective and accurate.