Energy-preserving dynamic modeling and analysis of tensegrity on-orbit deployment with attitude-flexibility coupling

This study aims to develop an accurate and efficient dynamic modeling framework for tensegrity on-orbit deployment under attitude-flexibility coupling and strongly time-varying spacecraft’s configurations. An energy-preserving matrix perturbation theory is formulated within the dynamic stiffness framework, together with modal-order verification via the Wittrick-Williams count and 2-norm precision control to suppress error accumulation during continuous perturbation updates. The method is validated on a rotating-extending beam benchmark by comparison with theoretical solution, where the first four modal frequencies agree well with the numerical results and the correction mechanism effectively eliminates accumulated error while significantly reducing computational cost. Based on the validated model, the global modal characteristics of the tensegrity are tracked throughout deployment, revealing transitions between symmetric and antisymmetric mode forms. Parametric studies further quantify how cable prestress and the central body’s rotational inertia influence attitude displacement and modal evolution. Using the identified global modes, deployment responses under different thermal flux incidence angles and post-shadow moments are evaluated, and an optimized deployment strategy is derived to enhance stability. Overall, the proposed framework provides a reliable and computationally efficient tool for global-mode tracking and dynamic assessment, offering practical guidance to improve deployment robustness and reliability.