Attitude coordination for spacecraft formation with multiple communication delays

Communication delays are inherently present in information exchange between spacecraft and have an effect on the control performance of spacecraft formation. In this work, attitude coordination control of spacecraft formation is addressed, which is in the presence of multiple communication delays between spacecraft. Virtual system-based approach is utilized in case that a constant reference attitude is available to only a part of the spacecraft. The feedback from the virtual systems to the spacecraft formation is introduced to maintain the formation. Using backstepping control method, input torque of each spacecraft is designed such that the attitude of each spacecraft converges asymptotically to the states of its corresponding virtual system. Furthermore, the backstepping technique and the Lyapunov–Krasovskii method contribute to the control law design when the reference attitude is time-varying and can be obtained by each spacecraft. Finally, effectiveness of the proposed methodology is illustrated by the numerical simulations of a spacecraft formation.     

Dual-Spin Spacecraft Nutation Control Using Articulated Payloads

A technique is presented for achieving active control of nutation on a dual-spin spacecraft with an articulated payload through use of the payload's control system. Using the Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO)-8 as an illustration, the closed-form solution to the nutation/control system dynamic interaction is presented. Control system design criteria are developed which establish the basic stability of the interaction. Design procedures are described to achieve the most effective nutation damping. Limitations on the amount of damping which can be achieved are characterized as functions of spacecraft and payload mass properties and servodesign parameters. The design techniques presented are verified through a series of on-orbit tests recently conducted on the OSO-8 spacecraft.     

克服旋转飞行器螺旋运动的方法研究

旋转飞行器虽然具有内在稳定性，但在飞行过程中一些不确定因素会导致飞行器产生螺旋运动，而非理想的关于角动量矢量纯粹的旋转运动。结合旋转飞行器自身的特点，借鉴自旋卫生的被动章动阻尼的方法，提出了一种通过主动控制飞行器内部质量块的运动使得飞行器碑的惯量主轴发生偏移，惯量矩阵由原来的对称阵变为含有非零非对角元素的矩阵，从而改变飞行器的姿态角运动来克服螺旋运动的方法，这将有助于提高旋转飞行器的资态控制精度。以某型旋转飞行器为背景进行仿真研究，计算结果证实了该方法的有效性和可行性。     

Adaptive Integral-type Sliding Mode Control for Spacecraft Attitude Maneuvering Under Actuator Stuck Failures

A fault tolerant control (FTC) design technique against actuator stuck faults is investigated using integral-type sliding mode control (ISMC) with application to spacecraft attitude maneuvering control system. The principle of the proposed FTC scheme is to design an integral-type sliding mode attitude controller using on-line parameter adaptive updating law to compensate for the effects of stuck actuators. This adaptive law also provides both the estimates of the system parameters and external disturbances such that a prior knowledge of the spacecraft inertia or boundedness of disturbances is not required. Moreover, by including the integral feedback term, the designed controller can not only tolerate actuator stuck faults, but also compensate the disturbances with constant components. For the synthesis of controller, the fault time, patterns and values are unknown in advance, as motivated from a practical spacecraft control application. Complete stability and performance analysis are presented and illustrative simulation results of application to a spacecraft show that high precise attitude control with zero steady-error is successfully achieved using various scenarios of stuck failures in actuators.     

航天器有限时间输出反馈姿态控制

研究在角速度不可测时航天器的有限时间姿态控制问题。基于有限时间控制技术,提出了由修正Rodrigues参数进行姿态描述的航天器输出反馈姿态控制算法。首先设计了单个航天器的输出反馈姿态控制器,在没有角速度反馈时也能够保证航天器姿态在有限时间内调节到期望姿态。之后,设计了无需绝对角速度和相对角速度信息的多航天器分布式输出反馈姿态控制器。使用Lyapunov理论和图论,对闭环系统全局有限时间稳定性进行了严格的证明。最后对提出的控制算法进行了数值仿真,其结果验证了所设计的航天器输出反馈控制算法的可行性和有效性。     

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.     

Nonlinear control and stability analysis of spacecraft attitude recovery

The problem of automated attitude recovery of rigid and flexible spacecraft is investigated using feedback linearization control and a novel approach for generating the control error signal based on quaternion addition. The attitude and flexible dynamics equations for a class of spacecraft is presented. The resulting nonlinear and coupled equations of the system are implemented into a high-fidelity user-friendly simulation environment. The simulator is used for the investigation of attitude recovery of flexible spacecraft using the feedback linearization approach. Since the flexible spacecraft is underactuated, the input-output linearization technique was specifically used to break up the system into two distinct parts, namely 1) an external linearizable system for which a linear controller can be easily implemented, and 2) an internal nonlinear unobservable system for which the associated zero dynamics is shown to be asymptotically stable for two representative cases. The overall closed-loop stability of the flexible spacecraft is analyzed rigorously and shown to be asymptotically stable using Lyapunov's method     

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.     

基于反步法的挠性航天器姿态镇定

利用反步法研究了一类挠性航天器的姿态镇定问题,提出一种基于模态观测器的反步控制设计方案.首先,构造挠性模态观测器对挠性模态变量及其变化率进行观测;其次,将角速度看成虚拟控制器,设计虚拟角速度镇定运动学模型与挠性模态变量组成的子系统;最后,利用反步法设计了一种非线性控制器使得角速度能够跟踪虚拟角速度,从而实现姿态镇定的目...     

Displacement simulation for spacecraft structure

The paper presents a technique of forming and evaluating the allowable clearance between a launch vehicle fairing and spacecraft.     

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.     

Distributed fixed-time attitude coordinated control for multiple spacecraft with actuator saturation

This paper investigates the distributed fixed-time attitude coordinated control problem for multiple spacecraft subject to actuator saturation under the directed topology. First, a distributed fixed-time observer is presented for each follower spacecraft to estimate the leader spacecraft’s states. Compared with the commonly used fixed-time observer, the settling time of the proposed fixed-time observer can be easily adjusted by some free design parameters. Next, a distributed fixed-time control ...     

Variable structure control and active vibration suppression of flexible spacecraft during attitude maneuver

This paper presents a new approach to vibration reduction of flexible spacecraft during attitude maneuver by using the theory of variable structure control (VSC) to design switching logic for thruster firing and lead zirconate titanate (PZT) as sensor and actuator for active vibration suppression. The spacecraft to be investigated is a hub with a cantilever flexible beam appendage, which can undergo a single axis rotation. The proposed control system includes the attitude controller acting on the rigid hub, designed by variable structure control technique, and the surface-bonded PZT patches for active vibration suppression of flexible appendages, designed by the positive position feedback (PPF) control technique. To avoid chattering, pulse-width pulse-frequency (PWPF) modulation is adopted for the thruster control, which makes the thrusters to be operated in a close to linear manner and also can suppress the relatively large amplitude vibrations excited by, for example, rapid maneuver. However, some residual micro-vibrations still exist due to the switching actions. Upon that, the technique of active vibration control using PZT is turned on to provide further vibration suppression of the residual micro-vibrations and fine tuning of the system performance. By combining the advantages of both these control strategies, an improved performance for vibration control in both the macro-and micro-senses can result. Both analytical and numerical results are presented to show the theoretical and practical merit of this approach.     

Induced Magnetic Fields in Solar System Bodies

Electromagnetic induction is a powerful technique to study the electrical conductivity of the interior of the Earth and other solar system bodies. Information about the electrical conductivity structure can provide strong constraints on the associated internal composition of planetary bodies. Here we give a review of the basic principles of the electromagnetic induction technique and discuss its application to various bodies of our solar system. We also show that the plasma environment, in which the bodies are embedded, generates in addition to the induced magnetic fields competing plasma magnetic fields. These fields need to be treated appropriately to reliably interpret magnetic field measurements in the vicinity of solar system bodies. Induction measurements are particularly important in the search for liquid water outside of Earth. Magnetic field measurements by the Galileo spacecraft provide strong evidence for a subsurface ocean on Europa and Callisto. The induction technique will provide additional important constraints on the possible subsurface water, when used on future Europa and Ganymede orbiters. It can also be applied to probe Enceladus and Titan with Cassini and future spacecraft.     

The Goddard Range and Range Rate Tracking System: Concept,design and performance

This paper is concerned with the concept, evolution and performance analysis of a high-accuracy, near-earth and cislunar cooperative target tracking system, known as the Goddard Range and Range Rate System.This system combines the advantages of harmonic (or sidetone) and pseudo-random coded ranging signals in a highly effective and versatile manner, operable either as an all-harmonic system in near-earth orbital tracking or as a hybrid system for tracking more distant spacecraft. The system also combines the utilization of the two types of signals in a very attractive technique for speeding up the process of acquiring the ambiguity resolving code component in tracking spacecraft at cislunar and translunar distances.The theoretical analysis of system performance and errors is followed by a summary of performance data gathered to date by operating GRARR systems on a number of NASA missions.     

A composite control scheme for attitude maneuvering and elastic mode stabilization of flexible spacecraft with measurable output feedback

This paper treats the question of attitude maneuver control and elastic mode stabilization of a flexible spacecraft based on adaptive sliding mode theory and active vibration control technique using piezoelectric materials. More precisely, a modified positive position feedback (PPF) scheme is developed to design the PPF compensator gains in a more systematical way to stabilize the vibration modes in the inner loop, in which a cost function is introduced to be minimized by the feedback gains subject to the stability criterion at the same time. Based on adaptive sliding mode control theory, a discontinuous attitude control law is derived to achieve the desired position of the spacecraft, taking explicitly into account the mismatched perturbation and actuator constraints. In the attitude control law, an adaptive mechanism is also embedded such that the unknown upper bound of perturbation is automatically adapted. Once the controlled attitude control system reaches the switching hyperplane, the state variables can be driven into a small bounded region. An additional attractive feature of the attitude control method is that the structure of the controller is independent of the elastic mode dynamics of the spacecraft, since in practice the measurement of flexible modes is not easy or feasible. The proposed control strategy has been implemented on a flexible spacecraft. Both analytical and numerical results are presented to show the theoretical and practical merit of this approach.     

基于浸入与不变理论的航天器姿态跟踪自适应控制

针对惯性参数不确定的航天器姿态跟踪控制问题，基于浸入与不变（I&I）方法设计出了一种新的姿态跟踪控制器。研究结果表明，传统的浸入与不变方法运用到姿态跟踪模型，存在参数回归矩阵不可积进而导致偏微分方程无解析解的问题。针对该问题，提出了一种对回归矩阵改造使其满足可积条件的方法，通过动态放缩技术消除了回归矩阵改造前后的差异对闭环系统稳定性的影响，设计出了一种新的航天器姿态跟踪自适应控制器。通过李雅普诺夫稳定性分析方法证明了所设计的控制器能够保证闭环系统的全局渐近稳定性。相对于已有的基于动态放缩法的浸入与不变控制器，设计了一种全新的缩放因子，使得控制器的执行不需要缩放因子的信息，并且也不需要惯量矩阵的先验信息。最后，仿真对比实验进一步验证了所设计控制器的有效性和优越性。     

ACTIVE SPACECRAFT POTENTIAL CONTROL

Charging of the outer surface or of the entire structure of a spacecraft in orbit can have a severe impact on the scientific output of the instruments. Typical floating potentials for magnetospheric satellites (from +1 to several tens of volts in sunlight) make it practically impossible to measure the cold (several eV) component of the ambient plasma. Effects of spacecraft charging are reduced by an entirely conductive surface of the spacecraft and by active charge neutralisation, which in the case of Cluster only deals with a positive potential. The Cluster spacecraft are instrumented with ion emitters of the liquid-metal ion-source type, which will produce indium ions at 5 to 8 keV energy. The operating principle is field evaporation of indium in the apex field of a needle. The advantages are low power consumption, compactness and high mass efficiency. The ion current will be adjusted in a feedback loop with instruments measuring the spacecraft potential (EFW and PEACE). A stand-alone mode is also foreseen as a back-up. The design and principles of the operation of the active spacecraft potential control instrument (ASPOC) are presented in detail. Flight experience with a similar instrument on the Geotail spacecraft is outlined.