太阳帆航天器行星际轨道转移优化算法

研究基于遗传算法的太阳帆行星际转移轨道的全局优化问题.通过极小值原理推导了太阳帆全局优化控制律,并以太阳帆飞行时间最短为优化目标函数,运用遗传算法对发射时间、到达时间和协态变量初值进行参数优化设计.为了解决轨道转移这一多约束优化问题,在遗传算法中加入动态罚函数.在此理论基础上作了从地球同步轨道出发到火星同步轨道转移和从地球出发与火星交会两个算例,仿真结果表明了该方法在太阳帆转移轨道全局优化中的有效性.     

Optimal solar sail trajectory approximation with finite Fourier series

The heliocentric transfer of a solar sail-based spacecraft is usually studied from an optimal perspective, by looking for the control law that minimizes the total flight time. The optimal control problem can be solved either with an indirect approach, whose solution is difficult to obtain due to its sensitivity to an initial guess of the costates, or with a direct method, which requires a good estimate of a feasible (guess) trajectory. This work presents a procedure to generate an approximate optimal trajectory through a finite Fourier series. The minimum time problem is solved using a nonlinear programming solver, in which the optimization parameters are the coefficients of the Fourier series and the positions of the spacecraft along the initial and target orbits. Suitable constraints are enforced on the direction and magnitude of the sail propulsive acceleration vector in order to obtain feasible solutions. A comparison with the numerical results from an indirect approach shows that the proposed method provides a good approximation of the optimal trajectory with a small computational effort.     

CubeSail: A low cost CubeSat based solar sail demonstration mission

CubeSail is a nano-solar sail mission based on the 3U CubeSat standard, which is currently being designed and built at the Surrey Space Centre, University of Surrey. CubeSail will have a total mass of around 3 kg and will deploy a 5 × 5 m sail in low Earth orbit. The primary aim of the mission is to demonstrate the concept of solar sailing and end-of-life de-orbiting using the sail membrane as a drag-sail. The spacecraft will have a compact 3-axis stabilised attitude control system, which uses three magnetic torquers aligned with the spacecraft principle axis as well as a novel two-dimensional translation stage separating the spacecraft bus from the sail. CubeSail’s deployment mechanism consists of four novel booms and four-quadrant sail membranes. The proposed booms are made from tape-spring blades and will deploy the sail membrane from a 2U CubeSat standard structure. This paper presents a systems level overview of the CubeSat mission, focusing on the mission orbit and de-orbiting, in addition to the deployment, attitude control and the satellite bus.     

太阳帆飞行器轨道动力学分析

通过分析对轨道要素影响最大的加速度分量,使太阳帆总是位于光压力沿这个加速度方向的分量最大的方位。通过分析轨道要素调整时的相互影响关系,提出了同时修正多种轨道偏差的控制方案。对处于地球静止轨道上太阳帆飞行器的轨道调整进行了数值仿真。结果证明利用太阳光压力进行轨道调整是可行的,而且有利的太阳方位是进行快速有效的轨道调整的必要条件。     

Extrasolar space exploration by a solar sail accelerated via thermal desorption of coating

For extrasolar space exploration it might be very convenient to take advantage of space environmental effects such as solar radiation heating to accelerate a solar sail coated by materials that undergo thermal desorption at a particular temperature. Thermal desorption can provide additional thrust as heating liberates atoms, embedded on the surface of the solar sail. We are considering orbital dynamics of a solar sail coated with materials that undergo thermal desorption at a specific temperature, as a result of heating by solar radiation at a particular heliocentric distance, and focus on two scenarios that only differ in the way the sail approaches the Sun. For each scenario once the perihelion is reached, the sail coat undergoes thermal desorption. When the desorption process ends, the sail then escapes the Solar System having the conventional acceleration due to solar radiation pressure. We study the dependence of a cruise speed of a solar sail on perihelion of the orbit where the solar sail is deployed. The following scenarios are considered and analyzed: (1) Hohmann transfer plus thermal desorption. In this scenario the sail would be carried as a payload to the perihelion with a conventional propulsion system by a Hohmann transfer from Earth’s orbit to an orbit very close to the Sun and then be deployed. Our calculations show that the cruise speed of the solar sail varies from 173?km/s to 325?km/s that corresponds to perihelion 0.3?AU and 0.1 AU, respectively. (2) Elliptical transfer plus Slingshot plus thermal desorption. In this scenario the transfer occurs from Earth’s orbit to Jupiter’s orbit; then a Jupiter’s fly-by leads to the orbit close to the Sun, where the sail is deployed and thermal desorption comes active. In this case the cruise speed of the solar sail varies from 187?km/s to 331?km/s depending on the perihelion of the orbit. Our study analyses and compares the different scenarios in which thermal desorption comes beside traditional propulsion systems for extrasolar space exploration.     

太阳帆推进任务的快速仿真方法

研究太阳帆的力学特性和轨道控制设计方法,导出太阳帆的无奇点控制律.提出通过STK中MATLAB语言编写的嵌入式脚本（Plug in Script）来将由控制律得到的光压力加速度矢量,添加到STK轨道计算力学模型中,从而进行轨道控制的方法.仿真结果表明,对于常规方法难以进行仿真分析的航天器动力学模型（如太阳帆）,所提出的方法能快速灵活地支持其相应的任务,并增强任务场景的可视化,从而实现利用STK丰富的功能特性进行复杂航天任务的设计、分析和验证.     

太阳帆航天器悬浮轨道动力学与控制

基于线性动力学模型和非线性动力学模型,研究了太阳帆航天器日心悬浮轨道保持与控制问题.首先,推导出了柱坐标形式的太阳帆动力学方程,并在参考悬浮轨道附近线性化以建立状态方程,然后对状态方程进行可控性分析.通过合理选择控制变量加权矩阵R,用线性二次型调节器(LQR)对线性模型进行控制.将得到的控制律代入非线性模型中进行验证,表明该控制律渐近稳定,并且具有良好的控制精度,可实现太阳帆悬浮轨道控制.      

姿态角幅值约束下的太阳帆Lissajous轨道保持控制

太阳帆航天器以两姿态角作为轨道控制输入时, 其轨道动力学方程具有非仿射非线性特性. 通过人工平动点处线性化获得的线性系统可完成太阳帆航天器轨道保持控制器的分析与设计. 由于线性近似模型为有误差模型, 存在近似有效范围约束, 表现为轨道高度约束和姿态角幅值约束. 本文研究了姿态角幅值约束对线性近似模型有效性的影响, 通过计算给出满足近似误差要求的姿态角幅值约束. 当控制输入存在幅值约束时, 控制器轨道修正能力受到束缚. 通过研究姿态角幅值约束下的最大允许入轨误差, 设计了最大允许入轨误差下线性二次型调节器(LQR)用于轨道保持控制, 并将控制器应用于太阳帆日地三体系统非线性模型中, 实现了日地人工L₁点Lissajous轨道最大允许入轨误差的控制收敛和良好精度下的轨道保持控制.      

太阳帆航天器编队维持和重构的方法研究

针对高面质比航天器可以利用太阳光压进行轨道控制的特点,本文提出一种太阳帆航天器编队构型维持和重构的方法.该方法通过控制主从航天器太阳帆姿态角和反射系数,调整主从航天器之间的光压差,产生抵消编队成员间相对运动受到摄动差或进行轨道机动时所需的连续小推力,从而实现编队构型的维持和重构.仿真结果表明,在主航天器太阳帆的姿态角和反射系数相对固定的条件下,对于太阳同步轨道上的高面质比太阳帆航天器编队,使用滑模控制方法,能够调整编队中从航天器太阳帆的姿态角和反射系数产生推力抵消摄动力影响,达到长期维持太阳帆航天器编队构型的目的;通过开环控制方法,能够调整编队中从航天器太阳帆的姿态角和反射系数产生连续小推力,在较长时间周期内实现编队重构.     

Dynamical analysis of a spinning solar sail

This paper discusses the orbit and attitude dynamics of a solar sail, and gives the sufficient conditions of a stable orbit and attitude coupled system. The stability of the coupled system is determined by the orbit stability and attitude stability. Based on the sufficient conditions, a spin-stabilized solar sail of cone configuration is proposed to evolve in the heliocentric displaced orbit. For this kind of configuration, the attitude is always stable by spinning itself. The orbit stability depends on the orbit parameters of the heliocentric displaced orbit, the ratio of the orbit radius to displaced distance and orbit angular velocity. If the center of mass and center of pressure overlap, it can be proved that the coupled system is stable when the orbit parameters are chosen in the stable region. When the center of mass and center of pressure offset exists, the stability of the coupled system can not be judged. A numerical example is given and the result shows that both the orbit and attitude are stable for the case.     

Performance analysis and mission applications of a new solar sail concept based on crossed booms with tip-deployed membranes

For precursor solar sail activities a strategy for a controlled deployment of large membranes was developed based on a combination of zig-zag folding and coiling of triangular sail segments spanned between crossed booms. This strategy required four autonomous deployment units that were jettisoned after the deployment is completed. In order to reduce the complexity of the system an adaptation of that deployment strategy is investigated.A baseline design for the deployment mechanisms is established that allows the deployment actuation from a central bus system in order to reduce the complexity of the system. The mass of such a sail craft will be slightly increased but its performance is still be reasonable for first solar sail missions.The presented design will be demonstrated on breadboard level showing the feasibility of the deployment strategy. The characteristic acceleration will be evaluated and compared to the requirements of certain proposed solar sail missions.     

利用绳系太阳帆减缓小行星自转的技术研究

提出一种利用太阳帆绳系系统逐渐减小小行星自转速率的方法。在系绳长度不变的情况下,利用太阳帆受到的太阳光压力使其始终保持与小行星同步,避免了由于小行星自转而引起的系绳缠绕问题。通过控制太阳帆使系绳始终拉紧,系绳中的拉力便可以持续提供一个与小行星自转方向相反的力矩,从而减小其自转速率。仿真结果表明,面积10⁶ m²的太阳帆,经过约86天可将小行星的自转消除,验证了该方法的有效性。     

Systems design of a hybrid sail pole-sitter

This paper presents the preliminary systems design of a pole-sitter. This is a spacecraft that hovers over an Earth pole, creating a platform for full hemispheric observation of the polar regions, as well as direct-link telecommunications. To provide the necessary thrust, a hybrid propulsion system combines a solar sail with a more mature solar electric propulsion (SEP) thruster. Previous work by the authors showed that the combination of the two allows lower propellant mass fractions, at the cost of increased system complexity. This paper compares the pure SEP spacecraft with the hybrid spacecraft in terms of the launch mass necessary to deliver a certain payload for a given mission duration. A mass budget is proposed, and the conditions investigated under which the hybrid sail saves on the initial spacecraft initial mass. It is found that the hybrid spacecraft with near- to mid-term sail technology has a lower initial mass than the SEP case if the mission duration is 7 years or more, with greater benefits for longer duration missions. The hybrid spacecraft with far-term sail technology outperforms the pure SEP case even for short missions.     

近地轨道集群航天器电磁编队飞行非线性反馈控制方法

针对近地轨道集群航天器电磁编队飞行的动力学和控制问题, 提出了一种非线性反馈控制方法. 基于电磁力模型和地磁场模型, 分析了地磁场对近地轨道电磁编队的影响; 建立了集群航天器电磁编队高精度相对轨道动力学模型; 基于Lyapunov稳定性理论设计了一种非线性反馈控制律, 利用该方法对两星电磁编队维持控制进行了仿真验证. 仿真结果表明, 地磁场引起的电磁干扰力可以忽略, 但是电磁干扰力矩的影响必须考虑; 近地轨道集群航天器电磁编队是可控的, 所设计的控制方法是可行的.      

Integrated guidance and control for solar sail station-keeping with optical degradation

Current control approaches for solar sail station-keeping on libration point orbits have not considered the degradation of the sail’s optical properties. However, significant optical degradation could lead to poor station-keeping performance or even complete failure. This paper presents an integrated guidance and control strategy to address this problem by updating the reference orbit based on in situ estimation. An exponential optical degradation model is incorporated into the solar radiation acceleration model, and an on-line reference orbit update approach is incorporated into the station-keeping, coupled with an active disturbance rejection controller. The reflection coefficient is estimated on-line and the reference orbit is updated discretely when the optical properties have degraded by a prescribed amount. This strategy provides discrete updates to the reference orbits such that the perturbation due to the optical degradation is maintained within a small range. These smaller perturbations can be dealt with by the controller’s robustness and station-keeping can be sustained for long durations even in the presence of large optical degradation.     

Solar sail near the Sun: Point-like and extended models of radiation source

Some modifications of solar sail radiation pressure forces on a plate and on a sphere for use in the numerical simulation of ‘local-optimal’ (or ‘instantaneously optimal’) trajectories of a spacecraft with a solar sail are suggested. The force model development is chronologically reviewed, including its connection with solar sail surface reflective and thermal properties. The sail surface is considered as partly absorbing, partly reflective (specular and diffuse), partly transparent. Thermal balance is specified because the spacecraft moves from circular Earth orbit to near-Sun regions and thermal limitations on the sail film are taken into account. A spherical sail-balloon can be used in near-Sun regions for scientific research beginning with the solar-synchronous orbit and moving outward from the Sun. The Sun is considered not only as a point-like source of radiation but also as an extended source of radiation which is assumed to be consequently as a point-like source of radiation, a uniformly bright flat solar disc and uniformly bright solar sphere.     

On-orbit verification of fuel-free attitude control system for spinning solar sail utilizing solar radiation pressure

This paper introduces a new attitude control system for a solar sail, which leverages solar radiation pressure. This novel system achieves completely fuel-free and oscillation-free attitude control of a flexible spinning solar sail. This system consists of thin-film-type devices that electrically control their optical parameters such as reflectivity to generate an imbalance in the solar radiation pressure applied to the edge of the sail. By using these devices, minute and continuous control torque can be applied to the sail to realize very stable and fuel-free attitude control of the large and flexible membrane. The control system was implemented as an optional attitude control system for small solar power sail demonstrator named IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun). In-orbit attitude control experiments were conducted, and the performance of the controller was successfully verified in comparison with the ground-based analytical performance estimation.     

Spinning solar sail orbit steering via spin rate control

The orbit of a solar sail can be controlled by changing the attitude of the spacecraft. In this study, we consider the spinning solar power sail IKAROS (Interplanetary Kite-craft Accelerated by Radiation Of the Sun), which is managed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The IKAROS attitude, i.e., the direction of its spin-axis, is nominally controlled by the rhumb-line control method. By utilizing the solar radiation torque, however, we are able to change the direction of the spin-axis by only controlling its spin rate. With this spin rate control, we can also control indirectly the solar sail’s trajectory. The main objective of this study is to construct the orbit control strategy of the solar sail via the spin-rate control method. We evaluate this strategy in terms of its propellant consumption compared to the rhumb-line control method. Finally, we present the actual flight attitude data of IKAROS and the change of its trajectory.     

Multi-objective optimal formation reconfiguration with scalarization and stochastic boundaries

A new method is proposed for multi-objective optimal control of satellite formation reconfiguration. First, necessary optimality conditions of single-objective fuel-optimal reconfiguration are studied. Problem of initial guess of the costate and control discontinuity are addressed by using a new developed stochastic based method. Terminal conditions of Two Point Boundary Value Problem (TPBVP) of the optimal control equations are relaxed using augmented Gaussian. Variances or bandwidths of the terminal conditions are set to decision variables to be optimized. Responses of varied initial costate are modeled and propagated using Riccati equation. Using quadratic convolution of relaxed terminal conditions, objective function of the fuel-optimal problem is reformulated into a quadratic equation, and a gradient based optimizer is used to search the optimal initial guess. In the second part of the paper, optimal control of format flying reconfiguration with two competitive objectives:fuel and time of flight (ToF) is studied. With Pascoletti-Serafini scalarization, the Multi-objective Optimal Control Problem (MOCP) is scalarized into a set of weighted Single-objective Optimal Control Problems (SOCP). Hamiltonian and switch function for the weighted SOCP are developed and constructed. New developed stochastic based approach is then used to search the optimal Pareto solutions. Verification and performances of proposed algorithms are demonstrated through numerical simulations of single-objective and multi-objective optimal control of low-thrust elliptical orbit formation reconfiguration. Potential applications of the algorithms to some other preliminary space mission designs are also discussed.     

飞向晕轨道的探测器轨道优化

晕轨道的稳定流形为从地球到晕轨道的转移轨道设计提供了便利．以往都采用在晕轨道上的目标点施加脉冲,这样,稳定流形只是为转移轨道的设计提供一个初始猜想,探测器并没有运行在稳定流形上,因而并未真正利用稳定流形节省燃料的优势．利用基于序优化理论的微分修正法,研究从晕轨道近地点稳定流形上不同点进入稳定流形所需要的燃料消耗,寻找燃耗最少的转移轨道．仿真表明,对于晕轨道近地点入轨,找到的稳定流形射入点机动比以往的晕轨道入轨点机动节省约33％的燃料消耗．此外,还对晕轨道上不同入轨点的入轨代价进行了研究,得到了晕轨道近地点入轨的最小燃耗解．