There has been work conducted to stabilize the librations of the tether system to prevent misalignment of the tether with the gravity gradient. The below figure displays the drag effects an EDT system will encounter for a typical orbit. The in-plane angle, α_ip, and out-of-plane angle, α_op, can be reduced by increasing the endmass of the system, or by employing feedback technology. Any deviations in the gravity alignment must be understood, and accounted for in the system design.
