Abstract
This paper presents a study about the application of a Kalman filter to estimate the position and velocity of a spacecraft in an aerobraking maneuver around the Earth. The cis-lunar aerobraking of the Hiten spacecraft as well as an aerobraking in a LEO orbit are simulated in this paper. The simulator developed considers a reference trajectory and a trajectory perturbed by external disturbances combined with nonidealities of sensors and actuators. It is able to operate in closed loop controlling the trajectory at each instant of time using a PID controller and propulsive jets. A Kalman filter utilizes the sensor data to estimate the state of the spacecraft. The estimation algorithms and propagation equations used in this process are presented. The U.S. Standard Atmosphere is adopted as the atmospheric model. The main results are compared with the case where the Kalman filter is not used. Therefore, it was possible to perform an analysis of the Kalman filter importance applied to an aerobraking maneuver.
Highlights
An orbital maneuver is described by the transferring of a satellite, from one orbit to another, through a changing in the velocity
Two cases are explored: the first shows an aerobraking performed in a LEO orbit, and the second study case presents the aerobraking simulation with the orbital elements of the Hiten spacecraft
This paper presented a study of an aerobraking maneuver, around the Earth, using the Kalman filter to estimate the position and velocity of the spacecraft
Summary
An orbital maneuver is described by the transferring of a satellite, from one orbit to another, through a changing in the velocity. There are many studies in the literature that consider a low thrust propulsion system [8–14] or an impulsive propulsion system [15–23] Another kind of orbital transfer is the gravity-assisted maneuver (or swing-by) that consists in the use of the gravity of a planet or other celestial body to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft, typically in order to save propellant, time, and expense [24–33]. In 1961, Howard London presented the approach of using aerodynamic forces in order to change the trajectory of a spacecraft. This new technique became known as aeroassisted maneuvers [34]. This type of orbital transfer can be accomplished in several layers of the atmosphere.
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