Reachable set estimation for spacecraft relative motion based on bang-bang principle

For spacecraft formation flight, the information of relative motion reachable set is very important, which can be used to predict the operating boundary of adjacent spacecraft and thus to ensure the safety of spacecraft operation. In this paper, we aim at developing a numerical method to approximate the reachable set for spacecraft relative motion. In particular, we focus on the quality of the approximation and the computational cost. Based on the bang-bang control principle, a polyhedral approximation algorithm is proposed to compute the reachable set of a relative motion spacecraft system. An inner approximation and an outer approximation of the reachable set for the system can be obtained. We prove that the approximation quality measured in Hausdorff distance can be guaranteed. The method is easy to implement and has low computational cost. Finally, the effectiveness of the algorithm is demonstrated by experimental simulation.