Onboard Target Searching Strategy During Lost in Space Situations in Angles-Only Navigation Active Space Debris Removal

Abstract

During the transition from ground-based to on-board relative navigation, active space debris removal faces the so-called lost in space problem where the target’s orbital parameters are known to a limited degree making its detection and identification among the other visible objects challenging. Being non-cooperative, the target is also assumed to be non-responsive to communication methods. Seven target search strategies are developed and evaluated using Monte-Carlo analysis. It is shown that one of the proposed methods, stepping-sweeping, can insure detection of the target within several minutes with a 99.9% success rate using either a single optical/infra-red camera payload. A sensitivity analysis was conducted on both the camera parameters and the detection success condition and reveals that this target search strategy is robust against initial position uncertainties. It is also applicable to all the common relative trajectories for orbital proximity operations. The developed tool can also be used for sensor parameters as well as search strategy key parameters selection.