<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="static/style.xsl"?><OAI-PMH xmlns="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/ http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/OAI-PMH.xsd"><responseDate>2026-09-18T22:55:06Z</responseDate><request verb="GetRecord" identifier="oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/42050" metadataPrefix="dim">https://dspace.mit.edu/server/oai/request</request><GetRecord><record><header><identifier>oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/42050</identifier><datestamp>2022-01-13T07:54:11Z</datestamp><setSpec>com_1721.1_7582</setSpec><setSpec>com_1721.1_7581</setSpec><setSpec>col_1721.1_131023</setSpec></header><metadata><dim:dim xmlns:dim="http://www.dspace.org/xmlns/dspace/dim" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:doc="http://www.lyncode.com/xoai" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.dspace.org/xmlns/dspace/dim http://www.dspace.org/schema/dim.xsd">
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="contributor" qualifier="advisor" lang="en_US">Jonathan P. How.</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="contributor" qualifier="author" lang="en_US">Aoudé, Georges Salim</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="contributor" qualifier="other" lang="en_US">Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics.</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="contributor" qualifier="department">Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="date" qualifier="accessioned">2008-09-02T17:54:45Z</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="date" qualifier="available">2008-09-02T17:54:45Z</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="date" qualifier="copyright" lang="en_US">2007</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="date" qualifier="issued" lang="en_US">2007</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="identifier" qualifier="uri">http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/42050</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="identifier" qualifier="oclc" lang="en_US">230816006</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" lang="en_US">Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2007.</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" lang="en_US">This electronic version was submitted by the student author.  The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" lang="en_US">Includes bibliographical references (p. 143-149).</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" qualifier="abstract" lang="en_US">The thesis presents a two-stage approach for designing optimal reconfiguration maneuvers for multiple spacecraft. These maneuvers involve well-coordinated and highly-coupled motions of the entire fleet of spacecraft while satisfying an arbitrary number of constraints. This problem is particularly difficult because of the nonlinearity of the attitude dynamics, the non-convexity of some of the constraints, and the coupling between the positions and attitudes of all spacecraft. As a result, the trajectory design must be solved as a single 6N DOF problem instead of N separate 6 DOF problems. The first stage of the solution approach quickly provides a feasible initial solution by solving a simplified version without differential constraints using a bi-directional Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT) planner. A transition algorithm then augments this guess with feasible dynamics that are propagated from the beginning to the end of the trajectory. The resulting output is a feasible initial guess to the complete optimal control problem that is discretized in the second stage using a Gauss pseudospectral method (GPM) and solved using an off-the-shelf nonlinear solver. This thesis also places emphasis on the importance of the initialization step in pseudospectral methods in order to decrease their computation times. It demonstrates the improvement that an initial guess based on an RRT planner brings to an optimal control problem solved using pseudospectral methods. Finally, this thesis presents the successful results of several reconfiguration maneuver experiments performed using the Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) hardware testbed onboard the International Space Station (ISS). The maneuvers were designed using two different two-stage algorithms presented in this work. It also discusses the lessons learned from these tests, and the recommendations to improve future ISS reconfiguration experiments.</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" qualifier="statementofresponsibility" lang="en_US">by Georges Salim Aoudé.</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="description" qualifier="degree" lang="en_US">S.M.</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="format" qualifier="extent" lang="en_US">149 p.</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="language" qualifier="iso" lang="en_US">eng</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="publisher" lang="en_US">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="rights" lang="en_US">M.I.T. theses are protected by 
copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but 
reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written 
permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="rights" qualifier="uri" lang="en_US">http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="subject" lang="en_US">Aeronautics and Astronautics.</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="title" lang="en_US">Two-stage path planning approach for designing multiple spacecraft reconfiguration maneuvers and application to SPHERES onboard ISS</dim:field>
   <dim:field mdschema="dc" element="title" qualifier="alternative" lang="en_US">2-stage path planning approach for designing multiple spacecraft reconfiguration maneuvers and application to Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites onboard the International Space Station</dim:field>
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   	&lt;Title>Two-stage path planning approach for designing multiple spacecraft reconfiguration maneuvers and application to SPHERES onboard ISS&lt;/Title>
   	&lt;Subtitle>2-stage path planning approach for designing multiple spacecraft reconfiguration maneuvers and application to Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites onboard the International Space Station&lt;/Subtitle>
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   	&lt;PublicationDate>2007&lt;/PublicationDate>
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        	&lt;DisplayName>Aoudé, Georges Salim&lt;/DisplayName>
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    &lt;Keyword>Aeronautics and Astronautics.&lt;/Keyword>
   	&lt;Abstract>The thesis presents a two-stage approach for designing optimal reconfiguration maneuvers for multiple spacecraft. These maneuvers involve well-coordinated and highly-coupled motions of the entire fleet of spacecraft while satisfying an arbitrary number of constraints. This problem is particularly difficult because of the nonlinearity of the attitude dynamics, the non-convexity of some of the constraints, and the coupling between the positions and attitudes of all spacecraft. As a result, the trajectory design must be solved as a single 6N DOF problem instead of N separate 6 DOF problems. The first stage of the solution approach quickly provides a feasible initial solution by solving a simplified version without differential constraints using a bi-directional Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT) planner. A transition algorithm then augments this guess with feasible dynamics that are propagated from the beginning to the end of the trajectory. The resulting output is a feasible initial guess to the complete optimal control problem that is discretized in the second stage using a Gauss pseudospectral method (GPM) and solved using an off-the-shelf nonlinear solver. This thesis also places emphasis on the importance of the initialization step in pseudospectral methods in order to decrease their computation times. It demonstrates the improvement that an initial guess based on an RRT planner brings to an optimal control problem solved using pseudospectral methods. Finally, this thesis presents the successful results of several reconfiguration maneuver experiments performed using the Synchronized Position Hold Engage and Reorient Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) hardware testbed onboard the International Space Station (ISS). The maneuvers were designed using two different two-stage algorithms presented in this work. It also discusses the lessons learned from these tests, and the recommendations to improve future ISS reconfiguration experiments.&lt;/Abstract>
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