Identification of the state-space model and payload mass parameter of a flexible space manipulator using a recursive subspace tracking method

The on-orbit parameter identification of a space structure can be used for the modification of a system dynamics model and controller coefficients. This study focuses on the estimation of a system state-space model for a two-link space manipulator in the procedure of capturing an unknown object, and a recursive tracking approach based on the recursive predictor-based subspace identification (RPBSID) algorithm is proposed to identify the manipulator payload mass parameter. Structural rigid motion and elastic vibration are separated, and the dynamics model of the space manipulator is linearized at an arbitrary working point (i.e., a certain manipulator configuration). The state-space model is determined by using the RPBSID algorithm and matrix transformation. In addition, utilizing the identified system state-space model, the manipulator payload mass parameter is estimated by extracting the corresponding block matrix. In numerical simulations, the presented parameter identification method is implemented and compared with the classical algebraic algorithm and the recursive least squares method for different payload masses and manipulator configurations. Numerical results illustrate that the system state-space model and payload mass parameter of the two-link flexible space manipulator are effectively identified by the recursive subspace tracking method.