Finite-time asteroid hovering via multiple-overlapping-horizon multiple-model predictive control

This paper investigates the asteroid hovering problem using the Multiple-Overlapping-Horizon Multiple-Model Predictive Control method. The effectiveness of the predictive controllers in satisfying control constraints and minimizing the required control effort is making Model Predictive Control a desirable control method for asteroid exploration missions which consist of the asteroid hovering phase. However, the computational burden of Model Predictive Control is an obstacle to employing the asteroid’s complex gravitational field model. As an alternative option, the Multiple Horizon Multiple-Model Predictive Control method has been introduced previously, which could provide a solution with the less computational burden with respect to the nonlinear Model Predictive Control. It was shown that it is not necessary to deduce the exact dynamics model to predict the system’s behavior during a long period using this approach. However, the calculated control acceleration was not smooth enough because of the crisp borders of consecutive horizons, which may cause an image motion and degrades the geometric accuracy of high-resolution images in asteroid hovering missions. In this paper, the Multiple-Overlapping-Horizon Multiple-Model Predictive Control method is introduced instead to solve the problem of controlling acceleration fluctuations by overlapping consecutive horizons. Numerical simulation results are presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control method, and its advantage is demonstrated accordingly for the asteroid hovering problem in achieving the hovering position and velocity.     

Single crater-aided inertial navigation for autonomous asteroid landing

In this paper, a novel crater-aided inertial navigation approach for autonomous asteroid landing mission is developed. It overcomes the major deficiencies of existing approaches in the literature, which mainly focuses on the case where craters are abundant in the camera field of view. As a result, traditional crater based methods require at least three craters to achieve crater matching, which limits their application in final landing phase where craters are scarce in the camera’s field of view. In contrast, the proposed algorithm enables single crater based crater matching based on a novel 2D-3D crater re-projection model. The re-projection model adopts inertial measurements as a reference, and re-projects the 3D crater model onto descent images to achieve the matching to its counterpart. An asteroid landing simulation toolbox is developed to validate the performance of the proposed approach. Through comparison with the state-of-the-art local image feature and crater based navigation algorithms, the proposed approach is validated to achieve a competitive performance in terms of feature matching and pose estimation accuracy with a much lighter computational cost.     

小卫星的自适应姿态控制

分析了小卫星的姿态动力学及运动学方程；利用姿态动力学方程为一动力学参数矢量的线性函数这一事实，考虑存在参数不确定性，提出了一种自适应控制方法；证明了这种方法可以保证控制系统全局渐近稳定。仿真结果验证了该方法的有效性。     

Adaptive predefined-time control for liquid-filled flexible spacecraft attitude stabilization during orbit maneuver

A predefined-time attitude stabilization for complex structure spacecraft with liquid sloshing and flexible vibration is investigated under input saturation during orbital maneuver. First, the attitude dynamics model of liquid-filled flexible spacecraft is constructed. Meanwhile, the influence of solar panel vibration and liquid sloshing is treated as a disturbance in the controller design. Next, an adaptive predefined-time control scheme is proposed by applying sliding mode control theory. A predefined-time convergent sliding surface and reaching law are designed to ensure the predefined-time fast convergence rate. Furthermore, a novel adaptive algorithm is developed to handle the disturbances from liquid sloshing and flexible vibration, ensuring that the system converges to a small neighborhood of the equilibrium. Additionally, a new auxiliary system is constructed to deal with the effects of input saturation. At last, one simulation case is performed to verify the feasibility and advantages of the proposed algorithm.     

空间机器人的目标捕获自适应控制

首先推导了基座姿态受控空间机器人系统运动学关系,得到了广义雅可比矩阵。根据目标的运动来规划机械臂末端在惯性空间的期望轨迹。对机器人动力学和运动学关系式进行线性参数比,分别对动力学待估参数和运动学待估参数设计在线修正律,在关节空间采用自适应控制。对于存在动力学参数不确知的机器人系统,算法保证了系统的渐近稳定,在成目标捕获任务的同时,控制基座姿态保持在期望范围之内。以平面两关节空间机器人系统为对象进行了仿真,结果表明了算法的可行性和有效性。     

Adaptive sliding mode control of spacecraft attitude-orbit dynamics on SE(3)

In this paper, to solve the problem of parameters uncertainty in spacecraft tracking control, an adaptive controller based on sliding mode is proposed for the relative spacecraft attitude-orbit dynamics on the Lie group SE(3). The dynamic equations of relative attitude orbit error for two spacecraft are established in the framework of Lie group SE(3). Considering the uncertainty of spacecraft parameters, a formal decomposition of known and unknown parameters, the state variables and control variables is firstly made in the original system. An online estimator is designed to evaluate the unknown parameters. A sliding mode controller is developed to actuate the spacecraft to track the target spacecraft. Then a Lyapunov function of tracking error and parameters estimated error is designed to prove the stability of the closed-loop system. Finally, the simulation results and analysis are presented to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.     

Economic assessment of high-thrust and solar-sail propulsion for near-earth asteroid mining

Asteroid mining has the potential to greatly reduce the cost of in-space manufacturing, production of propellant for space transportation and consumables for crewed spacecraft, compared to launching the required resources from the Earth’s deep gravity well. This paper discusses the top-level mission architecture and trajectory design for these resource-return missions, comparing high-thrust trajectories with continuous low-thrust solar-sail trajectories. The paper focuses on maximizing the economic Net Present Value, which takes the time-cost of finance into account and therefore balances the returned resource mass and mission duration. The different propulsion methods are compared in terms of maximum economic return and sets of attainable target asteroids. Results for transporting resources to geostationary orbit show that the orbital parameter hyperspace of suitable target asteroids is considerably larger for solar sails, allowing for more flexibility in selecting potential target asteroids. Also, results show that the Net Present Value that can be realized is larger when employing solar sailing instead of chemical propulsion. In addition, it is demonstrated that a higher Net Present Value can be realized when transporting volatiles to the Lunar Gateway instead of geostationary orbit. The paper provides one more step towards making commercial asteroid mining an economically viable reality by integrating trajectory design, propulsion technology and economic modelling.     

The effect of a rocky terrain for CubeSat landing on asteroid surfaces

The paper describes a general modelling procedure to build a simulation tool to investigate contact motion of a CubeSat on an asteroid surface. We investigate landing performance and landing success for the case of elastic rocky terrain and flat surfaces. As a case study, we focus on the disposal of ESA’s Hera Milani CubeSat by landing on the moon of Didymos binary asteroid system. The simulation environment includes the modelling of real shape and 6-DOF motion of the lander, the shape-based gravity models of Didymos and Dimorphos and rocks on surface, that are generated as physical obstacles. Trends and estimates on the performance of the landing phase and the most relevant effects on the outcome of the soil interaction process, are inferred. The statistical results on settling time, dispersion area and motion characteristics, such as number of bounces, show and quantify the effect of rocks on a successful passive and permanent landing.     

Rapid design and optimization of low-thrust rendezvous/interception trajectory for asteroid deflection missions

Asteroid deflection techniques are essential in order to protect the Earth from catastrophic impacts by hazardous asteroids. Rapid design and optimization of low-thrust rendezvous/interception trajectories is considered as one of the key technologies to successfully deflect potentially hazardous asteroids. In this paper, we address a general framework for the rapid design and optimization of low-thrust rendezvous/interception trajectories for future asteroid deflection missions. The design and optimization process includes three closely associated steps. Firstly, shape-based approaches and genetic algorithm (GA) are adopted to perform preliminary design, which provides a reasonable initial guess for subsequent accurate optimization. Secondly, Radau pseudospectral method is utilized to transcribe the low-thrust trajectory optimization problem into a discrete nonlinear programming (NLP) problem. Finally, sequential quadratic programming (SQP) is used to efficiently solve the nonlinear programming problem and obtain the optimal low-thrust rendezvous/interception trajectories. The rapid design and optimization algorithms developed in this paper are validated by three simulation cases with different performance indexes and boundary constraints.     

High precision dynamic model and control considering J2 perturbation for spacecraft hovering in low orbit

For spacecraft hovering in low orbit, a high precision spacecraft relative dynamics model without any simplification and considering J₂ perturbation is established in this paper. Using the derived model, open-loop control and closed-loop control are proposed respectively. Gauss's variation equations and the coordinate transformation method are combined to deal with the relative J₂ perturbation between the two spacecraft. The sliding mode controller is adopted as the closed-loop controller for spacecraft hovering. To improve the control accuracy, the relative J₂ perturbation is regarded as a known parameter term in the closed-loop controller. The external uncertainty perturbations except J₂ perturbation are estimated by numerical difference method, and the boundary layer method is used to weaken the impact of chattering on the sliding mode controller. The open-loop control of spacecraft hovering with the relative J₂ perturbation and without the relative J₂ perturbation are simulated and compared, and the results prove that the accuracy of open-loop control with relative J₂ perturbation has been significantly improved. Similarly, the simulation of the closed-loop control are presented to validate the effectiveness of the designed sliding mode controller, and the results demonstrate that the designed sliding mode controller including the derived relative J₂ perturbation can guarantee the high accuracy and robustness of spacecraft hovering in long-term mission.     

Study the influence of anchoring parameters on asteroid drilling anchoring with discrete element simulation

Asteroid exploration has become a research hotspot, and anchoring probes to asteroids is essential for in situ scientific detections. The influence of ultrasonic drilling force-closure anchoring parameters on the anchoring performance and its influence mechanism are studied based on discrete element simulation. An anchoring simulation model is established after calibrating virtual asteroid soil, and its validity is verified by anchoring experiments. Discrete element simulations are performed to study the effect of cross-sectional shape and longitudinal cross-sectional shape of anchoring rods on anchoring force. The internal influence mechanism of anchor configurations on the anchoring force is analyzed by extracting the number of stressed particles in the simulation area. The anchoring force has a positive correlation with the cross-sectional area. The rotation of non-circular anchors causes fluctuations in the anchoring force. The effect of the anchored material strength on the anchoring force is studied with the calibrated virtual asteroid soil. The relationship between anchoring force and anchoring parameters is studied, and the optimal anchoring angle is 54° for anchored material strength of 100 kPa. Finally, the variation of the anchoring force with the direction of external force is studied. This work can guide the anchor configuration design and the anchoring condition parameter optimization.     

Nonlinear attitude tracking control for spacecraft formation with multiple delays

This paper addresses the attitude tracking control for spacecraft formation with delay free and communication delays. With help of the idea of sliding control, an adaptive attitude synchronization control architecture is established. Furthermore, by introducing a nonsmooth feedback function, a new class of nonlinear controllers for the attitude tracking of spacecraft is developed. Both parameter uncertainties and unknown external disturbances are dealt with via the kind of controllers. Finally, some simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed results.     

椭圆轨道卫星空间任意位置悬停的方法

对任务星施加持续的控制加速度,使其在飞行过程中相对于目标卫星的空间位置保持不变,即实现任意位置悬停飞行。通过对任务星与目标星的相对运行分析和重力差异补偿分析,给出了在飞行过程中任务星相对于运行在椭圆轨道上的目标星实现任意位置悬停所需的径向、切向和法向控制加速度公式。最后对典型悬停飞行过程进行了动力学仿真,并对不同悬停飞行任务的能量消耗进行了对比分析,表明在一段时间内对任务星进行轨道悬停是可行的。     

Dynamics and control of spacecraft hovering using the geomagnetic Lorentz force

To achieve hovering, a spacecraft thrusts continuously to induce an equilibrium state at a desired position. Due to the constraints on the quantity of propellant onboard, long-time hovering around low-Earth orbits (LEO) is hardly achievable using traditional chemical propulsion. The Lorentz force, acting on an electrostatically charged spacecraft as it moves through a planetary magnetic field, provides a new propellantless method for orbital maneuvers. This paper investigates the feasibility of using the induced Lorentz force as an auxiliary means of propulsion for spacecraft hovering. Assuming that the Earth’s magnetic field is a dipole that rotates with the Earth, a dynamical model that characterizes the relative motion of Lorentz spacecraft is derived to analyze the required open-loop control acceleration for hovering. Based on this dynamical model, we first present the hovering configurations that could achieve propellantless hovering and the corresponding required specific charge of a Lorentz spacecraft. For other configurations, optimal open-loop control laws that minimize the control energy consumption are designed. Likewise, the optimal trajectories of required specific charge and control acceleration are both presented. The effect of orbital inclination on the expenditure of control energy is also analyzed. Further, we also develop a closed-loop control approach for propellantless hovering. Numerical results prove the validity of proposed control methods for hovering and show that hovering around low-Earth orbits would be achievable if the required specific charge of a Lorentz spacecraft becomes feasible in the future. Typically, hovering radially several kilometers above a target in LEO requires specific charges on the order of 0.1 C/kg.     

Neural network-based sliding mode control for atmospheric-actuated spacecraft formation using switching strategy

This paper presents an adaptive neural networks-based control method for spacecraft formation with coupled translational and rotational dynamics using only aerodynamic forces. It is assumed that each spacecraft is equipped with several large flat plates. A coupled orbit-attitude dynamic model is considered based on the specific configuration of atmospheric-based actuators. For this model, a neural network-based adaptive sliding mode controller is implemented, accounting for system uncertainties and external perturbations. To avoid invalidation of the neural networks destroying stability of the system, a switching control strategy is proposed which combines an adaptive neural networks controller dominating in its active region and an adaptive sliding mode controller outside the neural active region. An optimal process is developed to determine the control commands for the plates system. The stability of the closed-loop system is proved by a Lyapunov-based method. Comparative results through numerical simulations illustrate the effectiveness of executing attitude control while maintaining the relative motion, and higher control accuracy can be achieved by using the proposed neural-based switching control scheme than using only adaptive sliding mode controller.     

小天体伴飞脉冲控制

文章在同时考虑太阳和小天体引力的基础上,建立探测器相对小天体运动的动力学方程,利用状态转换矩阵描述小行星附近的运动.采用了一种阈值控制方法,当误差超过阈值时,利用脉冲控制使得探测器回到目标位置.研究结果表明,该控制方法能很好地实现探测器的位置保持,且方法实现简单、控制周期长、推进剂消耗少.     

充液航天器目标跟踪自适应控制

对于在零重力环境下受到横向控制力和俯仰控制力矩作用的带球形贮液箱的航天器模型,研究了其在平面运动的动力学特性.将晃动液体等效为单摆模型,利用Lagrange方法建立了系统动力学方程并且将其转化为状态变量方程形式;应用微分几何原理,以单输入—单输出系统（SISO）为例,研究了系统的非线性动力学特性,并进一步针对目标跟踪问题设计了SISO系统基于线性化模型的控制策略.研究结果表明：对于液体晃动-航天器姿态耦合动力学系统采用极点配置间接自校正控制策略能够实现姿态角的镇定及跟踪.     

Space-based line-of-sight tracking control of GEO target using nonsingular terminal sliding mode

This paper addresses the issue of high-precision line-of-sight (LOS) tracking of geosynchronous earth orbit target in highly dynamic conditions via spacecraft attitude maneuver. First, characteristics of the LOS motion are analyzed by a simplified linear relative motion model. Second, after transforming the quaternion-based attitude model into a double integrator system, a new nonsingular terminal sliding mode controller is proposed for spacecraft attitude tracking in a nominal case without parametric uncertainties and external disturbances. Third, an adaptive new nonsingular terminal mode controller is proposed for spacecraft attitude tracking in an uncertain case, which is done via constructing a pair of adaptive laws to estimate the parametric uncertainties and external disturbances online. The robust stability and finite time convergence property of the closed-loop system are demonstrated by Lyapunov theorem. Under control of the proposed controller, zero steady state error tracking of LOS with a smooth transition phase can be achieved in scheduled time, regardless of parametric uncertainties and external disturbances online. Finally, detailed numerical simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness and performance of the proposed controllers. Contrasting simulation results shows that proposed controllers can track the desired trajectories effectively and have better performance against the controllers based on linear sliding mode and the existing fast nonsingular terminal sliding mode.     

Error constrained control of a pseudo-satellite with disturbance

This paper presents the control scheme of a pseudo-satellite in situations where error constraints, uncertainties, and external disturbances occur. The control scheme of a pseudo-satellite includes planar path following control scheme and altitude control scheme. In order to control the altitude of a pseudo-satellite, the backstepping technique is used to control the quality of air in the air balloon. To deal with the error constrained requirements of a pseudo-satellite’s position, a tan-type barrier Lyapunov function (TBLF) is proposed and incorporated with the guidance control schemes. Adaptive fuzzy disturbance observers are presented to estimate uncertainties and external disturbances. Rigorous stability analysis proves that the altitude error of the pseudo-satellite can be uniformly bounded, and the position error of which can be maintained within the range of constrained requirements, while all closed-loop signals are uniformly bounded regardless of uncertainties and disturbances.     

Spin deployment of Hub-Spoke tethered satellite formation with sliding mode tether tension control

This work develops a tension control strategy for deploying an underactuated spin-stable tethered satellite formation in the hub-spoke configuration. First, the Lagrange equation is used to model the spin-deployment dynamics of the tethered satellite formation. The central spacecraft is modeled as a rigid body, and the tethered subsatellites are simplified as lumped masses. Second, a pure tension controller has been proposed to suppress the tether libration motion in the deployment without thrusting at the subsatellites. A nonlinear sliding mode control is introduced in the tension controller for the underactuated system to suppress the periodic gravitational perturbations caused by the spinning hub-spoke tethered satellite formation. The unknown upper bounds of the perturbations are estimated by adaptive control law. The bounded stability of the closed-loop tension controller has been proved by the Lyapunov theory. Finally, numerical simulations validate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed controller, i.e., tethers are fully deployed stably to the desired hub-spoke configuration.