We consider motion in an elliptic orbit of a dumbbell composed by a thin light rod arid.twp endpoint masses. This system can serve as a model for a two-body tethered spacecraft. We consider in-plane motions of the system in an elliptic orbit. The tether length can vary according to a prescribed law. We consider the possibility to control the length of the tether in such a way that the system rotates uniformly with respect to true anomaly. The paper also presents analysis of stability and study of chaotic motions for the system.
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