Flight Testing of Multiple-Spacecraft Control on SPHERES During Close-Proximity Operations

摘要

A multiple-spacecraft close-proximity control algorithm was implemented and tested with the SynchronizednPosition Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) facility onboard the International SpacenStation. During flight testing, a chaser satellite successfully approached a virtual target satellite while avoidingncollision with a virtual obstacle satellite. This research contributes to the control of multiple spacecraft for emergingnmissions, which may require simultaneous gathering, rendezvous, and docking. The unique control algorithm wasndeveloped at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and integrated onto the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’snSPHERES facility. The control algorithm implemented combines the efficiency of the linear quadratic regulatorn(used for attraction toward goal positions) and the robust collision-avoidance capability of the artificial potentialnfield method (used for repulsion from moving obstacles). The amalgamation of these two control methods into anmultiple-spacecraft close-proximity control algorithm yielded promising results, as demonstrated by simulations.nComprehensive simulation evaluation enabled implementation and ground testing of the spacecraft controlnalgorithm on the SPHERES facility. Successful ground testing led to the execution of flight experiments onboard thenInternational Space Station, which demonstrated the proposed algorithm in a microgravity environment.