Dynamics of an autonomous spacecraft control system at initial transition to a tracking mode

The problems of autonomous digital control of the information satellites and space robots during their initial transition to a tracking mode, namely in the initial orientation modes, are considered. Autonomous angular guidance and modularly limited vector digital control using a vector of the modified Rodrigues parameters are applying to bring the spacecraft’s orientation from completely arbitrary to the required one. The developed methods, algorithms and simulation results for a mini-satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit are presented.

Multiplicative-modified-Rodrigues-parameters-based strong tracking unscented Kalman filter for satellite attitude estimation

In this paper, an improved strong tracking unscented Kalman filter (STUKF) based on multiplicative modified Rodrigues parameters (MRPs) is proposed for satellite attitude estimation. The multiplicative MRPs are superior to additive ones in terms of attitude representation, especially when attitude angles are large. By minimizing the loss function in Wahba’s problem, a novel method of weighted average for MRPs is derived to replace the simple procedure. The generation of Sigma points, update of state variables and calculation of covariance matrices are all different from the existing literature to maintain the multiplicative property of MRPs. Simulation results by raw telemetry data from the on-orbit CubeSat Enlai-1 demonstrate the excellent performance of the proposed filter under large attitude angles.

MATHEMATICAL MODELS OF ANGULAR MOTION OF SPACE VEHICLES AND THEIR USE IN ORIENTATION CONTROL PROBLEMS

A general structure of the kinematic equations for attitude evolution of a spacecraft (SC) (coordinate system associated with a spacecraft (SCS)) relative to the reference coordinate system (RCS) is proposed. It is assumed that the origins of the coordinate systems coincide and are located at an arbitrary point of the spacecraft. Each of the coordinate systems rotates at an arbitrary absolute angular velocity (relative to the inertial space) specified by the projections on their axes. Attitude parameters can be the Euler–Krylov angles, Rodrigues–Hamilton parameters, and modified Rodrigues parameters. It is shown that the well-known representations of the attitude evolution equations of the SCS relative to the RCS using the Rodrigues-Hamilton parameters (components of normalized quaternions) can be simply obtained from the solution of the Erugin problem of finding the entire set of differential equations with a given integral of motion. The advantages and disadvantages of use for each of the specified attitude parameters are considered. A method of attitude control synthesis is proposed which is common for all these equations and based on the decomposition of the original problem into kinematic and dynamic ones and the use of well-known generalizations of the direct Lyapunov method for their solution. The property of structural roughness according to Andronov–Pontryagin [27–29] of the obtained algorithm is illustrated with the help of computer simulation. Particularly, a specific example illustrates the possibility for even a structurally simplified algorithm of stabilizing a specified constant spacecraft attitude to track the program of its change with sufficient accuracy. The tracking task is typical for the control of spacecraft docking, spacecraft de-orbiting, and performing route surveys of the Earth's surface.

Optimal Factorization of the State-Dependent Riccati Equation Technique in a Satellite Attitude and Orbit Control System

The satellite attitude and orbit control system (AOCS) can be designed with success by linear control theory if the satellite has slow angular motions and small attitude maneuver. However, for large and fast maneuvers, the linearized models are not able to represent all the perturbations due to the effects of the nonlinear terms present in the dynamics and in the actuators (e.g., saturation). Therefore, in such cases, it is expected that nonlinear control techniques yield better performance than the linear control techniques. One candidate technique for the design of AOCS control law under a large maneuver is the State-Dependent Riccati Equation (SDRE). SDRE entails factorization (that is, parameterization) of the nonlinear dynamics into the state vector and the product of a matrix-valued function that depends on the state itself. In doing so, SDRE brings the nonlinear system to a (nonunique) linear structure having state-dependent coefficient (SDC) matrices and then it minimizes a nonlinear performance index having a quadratic-like structure. The nonuniqueness of the SDC matrices creates extra degrees of freedom, which can be used to enhance controller performance, however, it poses challenges since not all SDC matrices fulfill the SDRE requirements. Moreover, regarding the satellite's kinematics, there is a plethora of options, e.g., Euler angles, Gibbs vector, modified Rodrigues parameters (MRPs), quaternions, etc. Once again, some kinematics formulation of the AOCS do not fulfill the SDRE requirements. In this paper, we evaluate the factorization options (SDC matrices) for the AOCS exploring the requirements of the SDRE technique. Considering a Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) typical mission, in which the AOCS must stabilize a satellite in three-axis, the application of the SDRE technique equipped with the optimal SDC matrices can yield gains in the missions. The initial results show that MRPs for kinematics provides an optimal SDC matrix.

Finite-time attitude stabilization of an output-constrained rigid spacecraft

This article concentrates on the study of finite-time attitude stabilization for a rigid spacecraft with output constraints. The dynamics of the spacecraft are expressed by modified Rodrigues parameters, so that the singularity of covariance matrix owing to quaternion’s redundancy is eliminated. Based on the backstepping technique in combination with adding a power integrator technique, the attitude stabilization control law is constructed. Rigorous mathematical proof shows that the closed-loop system is finite time stable and all the outputs remain bounded by using a barrier Lyapunov function technique. The effectiveness of the proposed finite-time stabilization scheme is verified by a simulation example.

Robust Adaptive Relative Position and Attitude Control for Noncooperative Spacecraft Hovering under Coupled Uncertain Dynamics

The control of body-fixed hovering over noncooperative target, as one of the key problems of relative motion control between spacecrafts, is studied in the paper. The position of the chaser in the noncooperative target’s body coordinate system is required to remain unchanged, and the attitude of the chaser and the target must be synchronized at the same time. Initially, a six-degrees-of-freedom-coupled dynamic model of a chaser relative to a target is established, and relative attitude dynamics is described through using modified Rodrigues parameters (MRP). Considering the model uncertainty and external disturbances of the noncooperative target system, an adaptive nonsingular terminal sliding mode (NTSM) controller is designed. Adaptive tuning method is used to overcome the effects of the model uncertainty and external disturbances. The upper bounds of the model uncertainty and external disturbances are not required to be known in advance. The actual control law is continuous and chatter-free, which is obtained by integrating the discontinuous derivative control signal. Finally, these theoretical results are verified by numerical simulation.