Development of simultaneous imaging polarimeter for asteroids

We are currently developing a polarimeter to study surface physical properties of asteroids. To enhance polarimetric accuracy and observational efficiency, we newly devised the polarimeter whose measurements can provide the two Stokes parameters Q and U, simultaneously. The test-observations of the prototype polarimeter have been carried out in December 2003 and January 2004, mounted on the 101 cm telescope at Bisei Astronomical Observatory, Okayama, Japan. In the observations, unpolarized and polarized standard stars were observed to measure an instrumental polarization and its uncertainty. As a result, an instrumental polarization of 5.06 ± 0.18% has been measured.     

Study of highly perturbed spacecraft formation dynamics via approximation

This paper explores methods for approximating and analyzing the dynamics of highly perturbed spacecraft formations with an emphasis on computationally efficient approaches. This facilitates on-board computation or rapid preliminary mission design analysis. Perturbed formation dynamics are often approximated as linear time-varying (LTV) systems, for which Floquet theory can be used to analyze the degree of system instability. Furthermore, the angular momentum of the relative orbital state can be computed with the approximate dynamics to provide additional insight. A general methodology is developed first and then applied to the problem of unstable formation dynamics in asteroid orbits. Here the dominant perturbative effects due to low-order gravitational harmonics and solar radiation pressure are modeled. Numerical simulations validate the approach and illustrate the approximation accuracy achieved.     

Spacecraft formation and orbit control using differential attitude-dependent solar radiation pressure

This paper introduces a linear model for spacecraft formation dynamics subject to attitude-dependent solar radiation pressure (SRP) disturbance, with the SRP model accounting for both absorption and specular/diffuse reflection. Spacecraft attitude is represented in modified Rodriguez parameters (MRPs), which also parameterize the orientation of individual facets for a spacecraft with fixed geometry. Compared to earlier work, this model incorporates analytic approximation of the SRP-perturbed chief orbit behavior in a manner enabling its use in applications with infrequent guidance updates. Control examples are shown for single-plate representations of hypothetical spacecraft with generally realistic optical parameters. The results demonstrate the validity of the model and the feasibility of SRP-based formation and rendezvous control in orbits around small bodies and in high orbits around the Earth such as the GEO belt.     

Solar sails for perturbation relief: Application to asteroids

A major cause of spacecraft orbital variation comes from natural perturbations, which, in close proximity of a body, are dominated by its non-spherical nature. For small bodies, such as asteroids, these effects can be considerable, given their uneven (and uncertain) mass distribution. Solar sail technology is proposed to reduce or eliminate the net secular effects of the irregular gravity field on the orbit. Initially, a sensitivity analysis will be carried out on the system which will show high sensitivity to changes in initial conditions. This presents a challenge for optimisation methods which require an initial guess of the solution. As such, the Genetic Algorithm (GA) is proposed as the preferred optimisation method as this requires no initial guess from the user. A multi-objective optimisation is performed which aims to achieve a periodic orbit whilst also minimising the effort required by the sail to do so. Given the system sensitivity, the control law for one orbit is not necessarily applicable for any subsequent orbit. Therefore, a new method of updating the control law for subsequent orbits is presented, based on linearisation and use of a Control Transition Matrix (CTM). The techniques will later find application in a multiple asteroid rendezvous mission with a solar sail as the primary propulsion system.     

基于粒子群算法的航天器姿态机动路径规划

研究航天器在星载设备受多种几何约束情况下,大角度姿态机动时的姿态路径规划问题.采用罗德里格斯参数描述姿态,将姿态机动路径规划问题转化为点机器人的三维路径规划问题.基于粒子群优化技术设计了航天器复杂约束下大角度姿态机动的路径规划算法.数值仿真结果表明,该方法对于复杂约束下航天器姿态机动的运动规划是有效的.     

Solar-photon sail hovering orbits about single and binary asteroids

Solar-photon sails can be useful for missions towards and about asteroids. Indeed, for the interplanetary transfer phase, missions to asteroids often require a large variation in inclination and solar-photon sails perform very well for such high energy missions. In the same way, solar-photon sails are also expected to perform well in the phase about the asteroid. This paper studies single and binary asteroids’ hovering regions by using a sailcraft. In order to consider a sailcraft with its own mass and shape, the mutual polyhedral method (usually used to study asteroid dynamics) is used; therefore, the sailcraft is designed by means of tetrahedra. The procedure to obtain the hovering regions about a single asteroid is presented and an accurate analysis of the control variables is carried out. Moreover, control torques required to maintain hovering orbits are obtained by considering the gravitational torques acting on the sailcraft due to the asteroid. In the end, the theory for hovering orbits is extended to binary-asteroid systems and applied to the binary system 1999 KW4.     

连续小推力航天器自主导航及在轨参数标定

以连续小推力航天器为背景,提出了综合考虑星载加速度计和推力器在轨标定的自主导航方案。首先以精确姿态测量和引力梯度模型为标定参考信息源,建立了包含加速度计参数、推力器参数以及光压系数的完整参数测量模型;然后基于天文导航方法建立了自主导航系统状态模型和观测模型;表明各状态和参数的能观性后,采用了具备良好计算效率和鲁棒性的双重无迹卡尔曼滤波方法进行状态和参数联合估计。分析与数值仿真表明,该方法通过结合参数在轨标定直接提高了导航模型精度,在工程应用中具备可行性和有效性。     

Long term dynamics and optimal control of nano-satellite deorbit using a short electrodynamic tether

This paper studies the long term dynamics and optimal control of a nano-satellite deorbit by a short electrodynamic tether. The long term deorbit process is discretized into intervals and within each interval a two-phase optimal control law is proposed to achieve libration stability and fast deorbit simultaneously. The first-phase formulates an open-loop fast-deorbit control trajectory by a simplified model that assumes the slow-varying orbital elements of electrodynamic tethered system as constant and ignores perturbation forces other than the electrodynamic force. The second phase tracks the optimal trajectory derived in the first phase by a finite receding horizon control method while considering a full dynamic model of electrodynamic tether system. Both optimal control problems are solved by direct collocation method base on the Hermite–Simpson discretization schemes with coincident nodes. The resulting piecewise nonlinear programing problems in the sequential intervals reduces the problem size and improve the computational efficiency, which enable an on-orbit control application. Numerical results for deorbit control of a short electrodynamic tethered nano-satellite system in both equatorial and highly inclined orbits demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed control method. An optimal balance between the libration stability and a fast deorbit of satellite with minimum control efforts is achieved.     

航天器受迫绕飞构型设计与控制

针对航天器在轨服务任务对绕飞技术的要求,研究了航天器受迫绕飞构型设计和控制问题。基于C-W(Clohessy-Wiltshire)方程的解析解,提出了双水滴拼接绕飞构型,并将单脉冲或双脉冲受迫绕飞延展至多脉冲绕飞构型设计;推导了伴随航天器初始状态变量与绕飞构型形状参数的关系,得到了4种构型的解析表达式和脉冲控制策略。通过数值仿真算例验证了设计的4种绕飞构型能够实现伴随航天器的慢速绕飞和快速绕飞,比较了不同绕飞构型的燃料消耗和绕飞距离误差。数值结果表明,双水滴拼接绕飞构型总脉冲最小。研究成果完善了航天器受迫绕飞构型设计与控制的相关理论,为工程应用提供参考。     

控制受限航天器无角速度反馈姿态控制

重点研究了控制受限和角速度不可测情况下航天器姿态快速跟踪问题。首先定义了四元数辅助系统,并设计了包含实际误差四元数和观测误差四元数的双曲正切函数的非线性控制律;然后,证明了系统的稳定性以及控制量的有界性;最后通过数字仿真与已有的方法进行比较研究,说明该方法能大大提高卫星姿态跟踪精度和响应速度。     

圆轨道航天器八面体编队构型轨道动力学分析

提出一个全新的八面体航天器编队构型,该构型体现出当前编队飞行多种轨道构型的特征,同时也适于作为空间演示试验的编队飞行模式。八面体编队构型的设计思路是基于C-W方程,轨道平面内沿航向编队构型可利用轨道动力学自然保持,正上方或正下方编队构型则需要依靠平面内控制来实现,垂直轨道平面的编队构型需要施加法向控制来实现。对基于C-W方程的悬停动力学模型进行了精度分析,最后以低轨道航天器的八面体编队构型为例进行了数学仿真验证。     

基于PCH模型的航天器姿态无源控制

针对存在干扰力矩的航天器姿态控制问题,从能量角度提出一种基于端口受控哈密顿(PCH)系统模型的无源控制方法。通过将姿态控制系统表示为PCH形式,并增加与姿态误差积分有关的状态,利用互联和阻尼分配无源控制(IDA-PBC)方法进行控制器设计,使得闭环系统具有期望的内部互连结构关系和能量耗散特性,所提出的控制方案能保证系统的输入-状态稳定性。进一步,考虑执行器的动态特性,利用反步法对控制指令进行补偿设计,结合指令滤波技术避免对虚拟控制量高阶导数的计算,并从理论上证明了闭环系统一致最终有界。仿真结果验证了本文所提控制方法相比于单独基于无源性控制方法的性能优势。     

无人机集群编队控制演示验证系统

为验证无人机集群编队控制算法在实际环境中的有效性,基于四旋翼无人机平台和双数据链、双地面站冗余设计,搭建了分布式控制的无人机集群编队控制演示验证系统。基于分层控制和封装的思想,将无人机控制系统分为执行层和决策层。执行层采用PIX自驾仪进行封装,只需修改自驾仪参数,不需针对不同无人机平台开发相应的控制策略,就能实现对异构集群的控制。需要验证不同的编队控制算法时,只需对决策层的控制算法进行修改即可,使系统具有较强的适应性和扩展性。演示验证系统采用双地面站和数据链,可实现在多种网络拓扑或通信失败情况下的无人机集群控制,具有较高的稳定性和安全性。应用领导-跟随协同编队控制算法,验证了本文演示验证系统的功能和性能。      

服务航天器超近程逼近失控目标的建模与控制

为在轨服务任务中实施对失控目标的安全逼近与对接,开展了服务航天器超近程逼近过程的动力学与控制研究。通过引入描述相对运动构型变化的期望相对位置矢量和位置误差矢量,推导了一种新颖的相对轨道误差动力学模型;考虑对接机构安装位置及安装误差,并结合相对姿态动力学模型,建立了逼近过程的相对姿态轨道耦合动力学模型;根据逼近路径约束条件,设计了逼近过程的期望相对位置矢量导引律;基于相对姿态轨道一体化耦合动力学模型,设计了考虑未知有界干扰的自适应时变滑模控制律并利用李雅普诺夫稳定性理论证明了闭环系统的全局稳定性。仿真结果表明,设计期望相对位置矢量导引律的方法能够实现逼近过程的相对运动构型变化控制,并且所设计的自适应时变滑模控制律具有较高的控制精度。     

二氧化碳甲烷化在载人航天器再生式环控生保系统中的应用

二氧化碳甲烷化（Sabatier反应）是载人航天再生式环控生保系统中空气质量管理的关键技术,也是焦炉气甲烷化和煤制天然气甲烷化流程中最后一级反应器主要进行的化学反应.化工行业中的二氧化碳甲烷化,尤其是针对高纯度二氧化碳的甲烷化技术,与载人航天用Sabatier技术既有共同点又存在差异.通过对Sabatier技术工艺、催化剂和关键设计的总结,对比分析应用于两个不同领域的二氧化碳甲烷化技术在工艺流程、催化剂和反应器方面的差异,借鉴工业二氧化碳甲烷化技术经验,提出载人航天用Sabatier技术可能的优化方向.     

Automatic orbital docking with tumbling target using sliding mode control

The present study aimed to propose translational and rotational control of a chaser spacecraft in the close vicinity docking phase with a target subjected to external disturbances. For this purpose, two sliding mode controls (SMC) are developed to coordinate the relative position and attitude of two spacecraft. The chaser is guided to the tumbling target by the relative position control, approaching in the direction of the target docking port. At the same moment, the relative attitude control coordinates the chaser attitude so that it can be aligned with the target orientation. These control systems regulate the relative translational and rotational velocities to be zero when two spacecraft are docking. The robustness of the closed-loop system in the presence of external disturbances, measurement noises and uncertainties is guaranteed by analyzing and calculating the control gains via the Lyapunov function. The simulations in different scenarios indicated the effectiveness of the controller scheme and precise maneuver regarding the accuracy of docking conditions.     

On tethered sample and mooring systems near irregular asteroids

A tethered asteroid sample and mooring system is investigated in this paper. In this system the spacecraft is moored to the surface of an irregular asteroid such as 216 Kleopatra by using a rocket-propelled anchor with a cable. The rocket-propelled anchor is a kind of space penetrator, which can inject into asteroids at high speeds generated by its own rocket engine. It can be used to explore the interior structure of asteroids, and it can also be used as a sample collector. When the sampling mission is done, the sample can be pulled back to the spacecraft with the anchor. Using this method, the spacecraft can be kept in a safe region in which it cannot be trapped by the gravitational field of the asteroid. This work is concerned with the dynamics of the tethered system near irregular asteroids. First, a shape model and gravitational field model of irregular asteroids are built. Then, the configuration and the stability of the tethered system are investigated, and the quasi-periodic motion near the equilibrium point of the tethered system is analyzed. Finally, the non-uniform density distribution of the asteroids is considered. The deployment process and the oscillation of the tethered system in the uncertain asteroid gravity field are simulated using the Monte Carlo method. The feasibility of the tethered asteroid sample and mooring system is proved.     

Decentralized differential drag based control of nanosatellites swarm spatial distribution using magnetorquers

Nanosatellites in the swarm initially move along arbitrary unbounded relative trajectories according to the launch initial conditions. Control algorithms developed in the paper are aimed to achieve the required spatial distribution of satellites in the along-track direction. The paper considers a swarm of 3U CubeSats in LEO, their form-factor is suitable for the aerodynamic control since the ratio of the satellite maximum to minimum cross-section areas is 3. Each satellite is provided with the information about the relative motion of neighboring satellites inside a specified communication area. The paper develops the corresponding decentralized control algorithms using the differential drag force. The required attitude control for each satellite is implemented by the active magnetic attitude control system. A set of decentralized control strategies is proposed taking into account the communicational constraints. The performance of these strategies is studied numerically. The swarm separation effect is demonstrated and investigated.     

Robust fault-tolerant saturated control for spacecraft proximity operations with actuator saturation and faults

In this paper, the motion control problem of autonomous spacecraft rendezvous and docking with a tumbling target in the presence of unknown model parameters, external disturbances, actuator saturation and faults is investigated. Firstly, a nonlinear six degree-of-freedom dynamics model is established to describe the relative motion of the chaser spacecraft with respect to the tumbling target. Subsequently, a robust fault-tolerant saturated control strategy with no precise knowledge of model parameters and external disturbances is proposed by combining the sliding mode control technique with an adaptive methodology. Then, within the Lyapunov framework, it is proved that the designed robust fault-tolerant controller can guarantee the relative position and attitude errors converge into small regions containing the origin. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control strategy.     

Tube-based robust output feedback model predictive control for autonomous rendezvous and docking with a tumbling target

In this paper, a tube-based robust output feedback model predictive control method (TRMPC) is proposed for controlling chaser spacecraft docking with a tumbling target in near-circular orbit. The controller contains a simple, stable, Luenberger state estimator and a tube-based robust model predictive controller. Several practical challenges are also considered under dock-enabling conditions, such as the control saturation, velocity constraint, approach corridor constraint, and collision avoidance constraint. Meanwhile, uncertainties are carefully analyzed when designing the controller, including dynamics uncertainty, measurement error, and control deviation. The TRMPC ensures that all possible state trajectories with uncertainties lie in the minimum robust positively invariant set (mRPI, i.e., the so-called tube in this paper). The tube center is the solution of a nominal (without uncertainties) system. Another important contribution of this paper is to propose a technique where it is unnecessary to calculate the mRPI explicitly. Thereby, the ‘curse of dimensionality’ can be avoided for a six-dimensional system. To verify the feasibility of the proposed TRMPC strategy in the presence of uncertainties, two scenarios of autonomous rendezvous and docking (AR&D) are simulated. The simulation results show that the TRMPC method is more efficient in minimizing the uncertainties, fuel consumption, and computational cost, compared to the classic model predictive control (MPC) method.