AbstractA control law for a single‐tether orbiting satellite system based on a reduced order linear adaptive control technique is presented. The main advantages of this technique are its design simplicity and the facts that specific system parameters and model linearization are not required when disigning the conroller. Two controllers are developed: one which uses only tension in the tether as control actuation and one which uses both tension and in‐plane thrusters as control actaution. Both a sixth‐order non‐linear and an 11th‐order bead model of a tethered satellite system are used for simulation purposes, demonstrating the ability of the controller to manage an uncertain system. Retrieval and stationkeeping results using these non‐linear models and the linear adaptive controller demonstrate the feasibility of the method. The robustness of the controller with respect to parameter uncertainties is also demonstrated by changing the non‐linear model and parameters whithin the model without redesigning t