Abstract
A time and covariance threshold triggered optimal maneuver planning method is proposed for orbital rendezvous using angles-only navigation (AON). In the context of Yamanaka-Ankersen orbital relative motion equations, the square root unscented Kalman filter (SRUKF) AON algorithm is developed to compute the relative state estimations from a low-volume/mass, power saving, and low-cost optical/infrared camera’s observations. Multi-impulsive Hill guidance law is employed in closed-loop linear covariance analysis model, based on which the quantitative relative position robustness and relative velocity robustness index are defined. By balancing fuel consumption, relative position robustness, and relative velocity robustness, we developed a time and covariance threshold triggered two-level optimal maneuver planning method, showing how these results correlate to past methods and missions and how they could potentially influence future ones. Numerical simulation proved that it is feasible to control the spacecraft with a two-line element- (TLE-) level uncertain, 34.6% of range, initial relative state to a 100 m v-bar relative station keeping point, at where the trajectory dispersion reduces to 3.5% of range, under a 30% data gap per revolution on account of the eclipse. Comparing with the traditional time triggered maneuver planning method, the final relative position accuracy is improved by one order and the relative trajectory robustness and collision probability are obviously improved and reduced, respectively.
Highlights
There are hundreds of thousands of debris in Earth’s orbit; while the biggest are tracked through ground radar, the large majority of pieces remain invisible
The relative rendezvous trajectory is optimized for angles-only navigation between chaser and target, especially for the upcoming small satellites based uncooperative rendezvous mission, such as active debris removal, on-orbit servicing, and inspection
Considering that there is a tradeoff between the relative position robustness, relative velocity robustness, and fuel consumption, it is important to minimize fuel consumption while ensuring sufficient observability since satellites usually have a tight mass budget
Summary
There are hundreds of thousands of debris in Earth’s orbit; while the biggest are tracked through ground radar, the large majority of pieces remain invisible. Tang et al [23] and Luo et al [24,25,26] took the navigation and control error into consideration and defined the open-loop optimal robust rendezvous planning method, making tradeoff between fuel consumption, rendezvous time, and trajectory robustness. Li et al [27] furtherly constructed closed-loop multiple objective optimization problem (MOOP) considering the position robustness, velocity robustness, and fuel Both the previous maneuver planning methods employed the heavy computational burden physical planning and nondominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II), which is not applicable for onboard considering limit computational resource. The relative rendezvous trajectory is optimized for AON between chaser (active satellite or space robot) and target (uncooperative satellite or space debris).
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