Robust image-based coordinated control for spacecraft formation flying

This paper addresses a coordinated control problem for Spacecraft Formation Flying (SFF). The distributed followers are required to track and synchronize with the leader spacecraft. By using the feature points in the two-dimensional image space, an integrated 6-degree-of-freedom dynamic model is formulated for spacecraft relative motion. Without sophisticated three-dimensional reconstruction, image features are directly utilized for the controller design. The proposed image-based controller can drive the follower spacecraft in the desired configuration with respect to the leader when the real-time captured images match their reference counterparts. To improve the precision of the formation configuration, the proposed controller employs a coordinated term to reduce the relative distance errors between followers. The uncertainties in the system dynamics are handled by integrating the adaptive technique into the controller, which increases the robustness of the SFF system. The closed-loop system stability is analyzed using the Lyapunov method and algebraic graph theory. A numerical simulation for a given SFF scenario is performed to evaluate the performance of the controller.     

Super twisting controller for on-orbit servicing to non-cooperative target

A relative position and attitude coupled controller is proposed for rendezvous and docking between two docking ports located in different spacecraft. It is concerned with servicing to a tumbling non-cooperative target spacecraft in arbitrary orbit subjected to external disturbances.By considering both kinematic and dynamical coupled effects of relative rotation on relative translation, a coupled dynamic model is established to represent the relative motion of docking port on target spacecraft with respect to another on the service spacecraft. The spacecraft control is based on the second order sliding mode algorithm of super twisting(ST). It is schemed to manipulate the relative position and attitude synchronously. A formal proof of the finite time convergence property of the closed-loop system is derived theoretically by the second method of Lyapunov. Numerical simulations with the designed ST controller are presented to validate the analytic analysis by contrast with the twisting control algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed relative position and attitude integrated controller is characterized by high precision, strong robustness and high reliability.     

SE(3)上航天器姿轨耦合固定时间容错控制

针对相对运动航天器姿轨一体化控制问题,考虑执行器故障和控制输入饱和的影响,提出了一种基于滑模的模糊自适应固定时间容错控制方法。首先,在李群SE（3）的框架下建立并推导相对运动航天器姿轨一体化误差动力学模型;其次,引入执行器故障和控制输入饱和的问题,采用双幂次快速终端滑模面,并结合模糊自适应方法设计了固定时间稳定的容错控制器,可以实现执行器故障情况下相对运动航天器的高精度快速跟踪控制;然后,运用Lyapunov方法证明了系统的稳定性,该控制器不仅能不依赖于系统的初始状态实现滑模趋近和到达阶段的固定时间稳定性,而且由于采用模糊逼近方法结合自适应更新策略可以实时高精度地估计系统的总扰动信息,因此可以达到快速高精度的容错控制目标;最后,对所提出的的控制方法进行数值仿真分析,结果验证了该方法的有效性和可行性。     

Shape control of spacecraft formation using a virtual spring-damper mesh

This paper derives a distance-based formation control method to maintain the desired formation shape for spacecraft in a gravitational potential field. The method is an analogy of a vir-tual spring-damper mesh. Spacecraft are connected virtually by spring-damper pairs. Convergence analysis is performed using the energy method. Approximate expressions for the distance errors and control accelerations at steady state are derived by using algebraic graph representations and results of graph rigidity. Analytical results indicate that if the underlying graph of the mesh is rigid, the convergence to a static shape is assured, and higher formation control precision can be achieved by increasing the elastic coefficient without increasing the control accelerations. A numerical exam-ple of spacecraft formation in low Earth orbit confirms the theoretical analysis and shows that the desired formation shape can be well achieved using the presented method, whereas the orientation of the formation can be kept pointing to the center of the Earth by the gravity gradient. The method is decentralized, and uses only relative measurement information. Constructing a distributed virtual structure in space can be the general application area. The proposed method can serve as an active shape control law for the spacecraft formations using propellantless internal forces.     

考虑输入饱和的航天器相对运动鲁棒自适应控制

 研究了在输入饱和约束条件下的航天器相对运动的姿态和轨道一体化控制问题。首先,基于单位对偶四元数给出了航天器6自由度相对运动的数学模型,利用误差对偶四元数来描述航天器的相对姿态和相对位置。接着,针对输入饱和问题,提出了一种对航天器模型参数不确定性和外部有界干扰具有较强鲁棒性的自适应控制器,并通过李雅普诺夫方法从理论上严格证明了整个闭环系统的全局渐近稳定性。最后,通过数值仿真来验证设计方法的有效性和可行性,并且与其他方法进行了比较,结果表明设计的方法能够抑制输入饱和的问题,在性能上具有更快的收敛速度和更强的鲁棒性。     

航天器天基测控技术仿真研究

天基测控技术是航天测控系统的发展方向，是弥补地基（陆基＋海基）测控系统缺陷、缓解地基测控资源紧张的有效办法。本文提出了基于“北斗一号”系统的航天器天基测控技术仿真方法，设计并建立了相应的仿真系统。基于建立的仿真系统、按照设计的仿真方法对航天器天基测控技术进行了全面仿真。仿真结果表明，基于“北斗一号”系统的天基测控技术可行，性能指标可以满足中低轨道航天器实际测控需要。     

Coordinated Multiple Spacecraft Attitude Control with Communication Time Delays and Uncertainties

In this paper, we consider the coordinated attitude control problem of spacecraft formation with communication delays, model and disturbance uncertainties, and propose novel synchronized control schemes. Since the attitude motion is essential in non-Euclidean space, thus, unlike the existing designs which describe the delayed relative attitude via linear algorithm, we treat the attitude error and the local relative attitude on the nonlinear manifold-Lie group, and attempt to obtain coupling attitude information by the natural quaternion multiplication. Our main focus is to address two problems:1) Propose a coordinated attitude controller to achieve the synchronized attitude maneuver, i.e., synchronize multiple spacecraft attitudes and track a time-varying desired attitude; 2) With known model information, we achieve the synchronized attitude maneuver with disturbances under angular velocity constraints. Especially, if the formation does not have any uncertainties, the designer can simply set the controller via an appropriate choice of control gains to avoid system actuator saturation. Our controllers are proposed based on the Lyapunov-Krasovskii method and simulation of a spacecraft formation is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of theoretical results.     

Neural adaptive control for a ground experiment of the space proximity operation in a six-degree-of-freedom micro-gravity simulation system

In this study, a neural adaptive controller is developed for a ground experiment with a spacecraft proximity operation. As the water resistance in the experiment is highly nonlinear and can significantly affect the fidelity of the ground experiment, the water resistance must be estimated accurately and compensated using an active force online. For this problem, a novel control algorithm combined with Chebyshev Neural Networks (CNN) and an Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC) is proposed. Specifically, the CNN algorithm is used to estimate the water resistance. The advantage of the CNN estimation is that the coefficients of the approximation can be adaptively changed to minimize the estimation error. Combined with the ADRC algorithm, the total disturbance is compensated in the experiment to improve the fidelity. The dynamic model of the spacecraft proximity maneuver in the experiment is established. The ground experiment of the proximity maneuver that considers an obstacle is provided to verify the efficiency of the proposed controller. The results demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms the pure ADRC method and can achieve close-to-real-time performance for the spacecraft proximity maneuver.     

Spacecraft formation-containment flying control with time-varying translational velocity

This paper investigates the problem of Spacecraft Formation-Containment Flying Control (SFCFC) when the desired translational velocity is time-varying. In SFCFC problem, there are multiple leader spacecraft and multiple follower spacecraft and SFCFC can be divided into leader spacecraft’s formation control and follower spacecraft’s containment control. First, under the condition that only a part of leader spacecraft can have access to the desired time-varying translational velocity, a velocity estimator is designed for each leader spacecraft. Secondly, based on the estimated translational velocity, a distributed formation control algorithm is designed for leader spacecraft to achieve the desired formation and move with the desired translational velocity simultaneously. Then, to ensure all follower spacecraft converge to the convex hull formed by the leader spacecraft, a distributed containment control algorithm is designed for follower spacecraft. Moreover, to reduce the dependence of the designed control algorithms on the graph information and increase system robustness, the control gains are changing adaptively and the parametric uncertainties are handled, respectively. Finally, simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

Sub-optimal fixed-finite-horizon spacecraft configuration control on SE(3)

For achieving the desired configuration of spacecraft at the desired fixed time, a sub-optimal fixed-finite-horizon configuration control method on the Lie group SE(3) is developed based on the Model Predictive Static Programming (MPSP). The MPSP technique has been widely used to solve finite-horizon optimal control problems and is known for its high computational efficiency thanks to the closed-form solution, but it cannot be directly applied to systems on SE(3). The methodological innovation in this paper enables that the MPSP technique is extended to the geometric control on SE(3), using the variational principle, the left-invariant properties of Lie groups, and the topology structure of Lie algebra space. Moreover, the energy consumption, which is crucial for spacecraft operations, is considered as the objective function to be optimized in the optimal control formulation. The effectiveness of the designed sub-optimal control method is demonstrated through an online simulation under disturbances and state measurement errors.     

Coordinated attitude control for flexible spacecraft formation with actuator configuration misalignment

This paper investigates the coordinated attitude control problem for flexible spacecraft formation with the consideration of actuator configuration misalignment. First, an integral-type sliding mode adaptive control law is designed to compensate the effects of flexible mode, environmental disturbance and actuator installation deviation. The basic idea of the Integral-type Sliding Mode Control (ISMC) is to design a proper sliding manifold so that the sliding mode starts from the initial time instant, and thus the robustness of the system can be guaranteed from the beginning of the process and the reaching phase is eliminated. Then, considering the nominal system of spacecraft formation based on directed topology, an attitude cooperative control strategy is developed for the nominal system with or without communication delay. The proposed control law can guarantee that for each spacecraft in the spacecraft formation, the desired attitude objective can be achieved and the attitude synchronization can be maintained with other spacecraft in the formation. Finally, simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm.     

An equivalent ground thermal test method for single-phase fluid loop space radiator

Thermal vacuum test is widely used for the ground validation of spacecraft thermal control system. However, the conduction and convection can be simulated in normal ground pressure environment completely. By the employment of pumped fluid loops’ thermal control technology on spacecraft, conduction and convection become the main heat transfer behavior between radiator and inside cabin. As long as the heat transfer behavior between radiator and outer space can be equivalently simulated in normal pressure, the thermal vacuum test can be substituted by the normal ground pressure thermal test. In this paper, an equivalent normal pressure thermal test method for the spacecraft single-phase fluid loop radiator is proposed. The heat radiation between radiator and outer space has been equivalently simulated by combination of a group of refrigerators and thermal electrical cooler(TEC) array. By adjusting the heat rejection of each device, the relationship between heat flux and surface temperature of the radiator can be maintained. To verify this method,a validating system has been built up and the experiments have been carried out. The results indicate that the proposed equivalent ground thermal test method can simulate the heat rejection performance of radiator correctly and the temperature error between in-orbit theory value and experiment result of the radiator is less than 0.5 C, except for the equipment startup period. This provides a potential method for the thermal test of space systems especially for extra-large spacecraft which employs single-phase fluid loop radiator as thermal control approach.     

Autonomous attitude coordinated control for spacecraft formation with input constraint,model uncertainties,and external disturbances

To synchronize the attitude of a spacecraft formation flying system, three novel autonomous control schemes are proposed to deal with the issue in this paper. The first one is an ideal autonomous attitude coordinated controller, which is applied to address the case with certain models and no disturbance. The second one is a robust adaptive attitude coordinated controller, which aims to tackle the case with external disturbances and model uncertainties. The last one is a filtered robust adaptive attitude coordinated controller, which is used to overcome the case with input con- straint, model uncertainties, and external disturbances. The above three controllers do not need any external tracking signal and only require angular velocity and relative orientation between a spacecraft and its neighbors. Besides, the relative information is represented in the body frame of each spacecraft. The controllers are proved to be able to result in asymptotical stability almost everywhere. Numerical simulation results show that the proposed three approaches are effective for attitude coordination in a spacecraft formation flying system.     

对失控航天器在轨服务的自适应滑模控制器设计

为实现对自由翻滚的失控目标航天器进行在轨服务,基于二阶滑模控制算法设计了相对位置与姿态耦合的自适应控制器。考虑相对转动对相对平动的耦合作用,建立了两航天器对接端口间相对位置与姿态耦合的动力学模型,并在此基础上设计了自适应Super twisting控制器,以减弱已知界限的有界干扰所产生的震颤效应,使闭环系统在有限时间内收敛到平衡点。利用李雅普诺夫方法证明了有界干扰下的闭环系统稳定性,并对收敛时间的上界进行了估计。仿真结果表明,与Super twisting算法相比,所设计的自适应二阶滑模控制器对参数不确定性及线性增长有界干扰具有较强的鲁棒性,且控制精度满足在轨服务的任务需求。     

Close relative motion on distant retrograde orbits

Distant Retrograde Orbits (DROs) in the Earth-Moon system have great potential to support varieties of missions due to the favorable stability and orbital positions. Thus, the close relative motion on DROs should be analyzed to design formations to assist or extend the DRO missions. However, as the reference DROs are obtained through numerical methods, the close relative motions on DROs are non-analytical, which severely limits the design of relative trajectories. In this paper, a novel approach is proposed to construct the analytical solution of bounded close relative motion on DROs. The linear dynamics of relative motion on DRO is established at first. The preliminary forms of the general solutions are obtained based on the Floquet theory. And the general solutions are classified as different modes depending on their periodic components. A new parameterization is applied to each mode, which allows us to explore the geometries of quasi-periodic modes in detail. In each mode, the solutions are integrated as a uniform expression and their periodic components are expanded as truncated Fourier series. In this way, the analytical bounded relative motion on DRO is obtained. Based on the analytical expression, the characteristics of different modes are comprehensively analyzed. The natural periodic mode is always located on the single side of the target spacecraft on DRO and is appropriate to be the parking orbits of the rendezvous and docking. On the basis of quasi-periodic modes, quasi-elliptical fly-around relative trajectories are designed with the assistance of only two impulses per period. The fly-around formation can support observations to targets on DRO from multiple viewing angles. And the fly-around formation is validated in a more practical ephemeris model.     

Composite control method for stabilizing spacecraft attitude in terms of Rodrigues parameters

In this paper, the attitude stabilization problem of a rigid spacecraft described by Rodrigues parameters is investigated via a composite control strategy, which combines a feedback control law designed by a finite time control technique with a feedforward compensator based on a linear disturbance observer (DOB) method. By choosing a suitable coordinate transformation, the spacecraft dynamics can be divided into three second-order subsystems. Each subsystem includes a certain part and an uncertain part. By using the finite time control technique, a continuous finite time controller is designed for the certain part. The uncertain part is considered to be a lumped disturbance, which is estimated by a DOB, and a corresponding feedforward design is then implemented to compensate the disturbance. Simulation results are employed to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Event-triggered and consensus-based attitude tracking alignment for discrete-time multiple spacecraft system exploiting interference

This paper presents a discrete-time attitude control strategy with equi-global practical stabilizability for aligning the attitude of multiple spacecraft to a predesigned configuration according to a time-variant reference. By utilizing the interference of the wireless channel, the communication scheme designed in this paper can save communication resources, amount of computation, and energy proportionally to the number of spacecraft. The exact discrete-time model and approximate discrete-time model of the consensus-based spacecraft tracking system are given. Then the framework for the design of an event-triggered control scheme for the exact discrete-time system via its approximate models is developed, which avoids the periodic actuation, and Zeno behavior is proved to be excluded. Furthermore, the control scheme can handle the presence of the unknown fading channel. Finally, simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control strategy.     

Pattern control for large-scale spacecraft swarms in elliptic orbits via density fields

Space swarms, enabled by the miniaturization of spacecraft, have the potential capability to lower costs, increase efficiencies, and broaden the horizons of space missions. The formation control problem of large-scale spacecraft swarms flying around an elliptic orbit is considered. The objective is to drive the entire formation to produce a specified spatial pattern. The relative motion between agents becomes complicated as the number of agents increases. Hence, a density-based method is adopted...     

载人航天器推进系统健康监测的组件技术研究

为了适应载人航天器推进系统多发动机的分布式结构,提高健康监测系统的可靠性,应用组件技术构造了分布式多智能组件集成的健康监测系统,给出了组件之间的协调修正和决策算法。原型系统仿真结果表明,该技术比传统的面向对象（ＯＯＰ）技术更适用于分布式系统,可应用于载人航天器推进系统的健康监测。     

Precise control of a magnetically suspended double-gimbal control moment gyroscope using differential geometry decoupling method

Precise control of a magnetically suspended double-gimbal control moment gyroscope (MSDGCMG) is of vital importance and challenge to the attitude positioning of spacecraft owing to its multivariable, nonlinear and strong coupled properties. This paper proposes a novel linearization and decoupling method based on differential geometry theory and combines it with the internal model controller (IMC) to guarantee the system robustness to the external disturbance and parameter uncertainty. Furthermore, by introducing the dynamic compensation for the inner-gimbal rate-servo system and the magnetically suspended rotor (MSR) system only, we can eliminate the influence of the unmodeled dynamics to the decoupling control accuracy as well as save costs and inhibit noises effectively. The simulation results verify the nice decoupling and robustness performance of the system using the proposed method.