De-Orbiting of Space Debris by Means of a Towering Cable and a Single Thruster Spaceship: Whiplash and Tail Wagging Effects

This papers exposes two difficulties that are likely to take place during the towing of a space debris. These effects, which could trouble de-orbitation strategies, are visible on simple simulations based on a model of coupled rigid-bodies dynamics. We name them tail wagging and whiplash effects, respectively.