AUTONOMOUS DISTRIBUTED LQR/APF CONTROL ALGORITHMS FOR CUBESAT SWARMS MANOEUVRING IN ECCENTRIC ORBITS

摘要

Spacecraft formation flying has shown to be promising approach to enhance mission capabilities. Nevertheless, formation flying presents several control challenges which escalate as the numbers of elements in the formation is increased. The objective of this paper is to develop decentralised control algorithms to regulate the station-keeping, reconfiguration and collision avoidance of spacecraft in formation around eccentric reference orbits using an LQR/APF control scheme. Within this control scheme, the LQR will provide station-keeping and reconfiguration capabilities toward desired positions, while optimizing fuel consumption and the APF will ensure collision free manoeuvres between the elements of the formation during manoeuvres. For this purpose, a continuous thrust optimal control scheme will be designed using the Pontryagin minimum principle, the Tschauner and Hempel equations and an APF based on a Gaussian function.