Parameterization of Fuel-Optimal Synchronous Approach Trajectories to Tumbling Targets
Name
frobt-05-00033.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
1.28 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
316fe9576253eabb8d5654eb158842cd
Author(s)
Sternberg, David C.
Miller, David W
Date Issued
April 2018
Journal
Frontiers in Robotics and AI
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Citation
Sternberg, David Charles and David Miller. “Parameterization of Fuel-Optimal Synchronous Approach Trajectories to Tumbling Targets.” Frontiers in Robotics and AI, vol. 5, 2018, Article 33 © 2018 The Author(s)
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Docking with potentially tumbling Targets is a common element of many mission architectures, including on-orbit servicing and active debris removal. This paper studies synchronized docking trajectories as a way to ensure the Chaser satellite remains on the docking axis of the tumbling Target, thereby reducing collision risks and enabling persistent onboard sensing of the docking location. Chaser satellites have limited computational power available to them and the time allowed for the determination of a fuel optimal trajectory may be limited. Consequently, parameterized trajectories that approximate the fuel optimal trajectory while following synchronous approaches may be used to provide a computationally efficient means of determining near optimal trajectories to a tumbling Target. This paper presents a method of balancing the computation cost with the added fuel expenditure required for parameterization, including the selection of a parameterization scheme, the number of parameters in the parameterization, and a means of incorporating the dynamics of a tumbling satellite into the parameterization process. Comparisons of the parameterized trajectories are made with the fuel optimal trajectory, which is computed through the numerical propagation of Euler’s equations. Additionally, various tumble types are considered to demonstrate the efficacy of the presented computation scheme. With this parameterized trajectory determination method, Chaser satellites may perform terminal approach and docking maneuvers with both fuel and computational efficiency.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3389/FROBT.2018.00033
