Relative Orbital Motion Control of Spacecraft Based on Multi-Objective Optimization

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the relative motion of a follower spacecraft orbiting the Earth in a near circular orbit with respect to a leader spacecraft. The relative orbital motion-control problem of the follower spacecraft is studied here. In order to allow the follower spacecraft to succeed in its target orbital motion maneuver, we proposed a multi-objective optimization method to solve the relative orbital motion-control problem. Firstly, a Hill–Clohessy–Wiltshire equation was used to describe the continuous relative orbital motion-control system. Then, the system was discretized into a discrete system using numerical methods. Next, a multi-objective optimization model of the relative orbital motion-control problem was formulated. In the model, two objectives, i.e., the orbital motion error and the energy consumption, were minimized simultaneously. Furthermore, the ε-constraint method was used to solve the multi-objective optimization problem and the Pareto front, which demonstrates that the trade-off between the two objectives can be achieved. Finally, numerical experiments were carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed multi-objective optimization approach.