Robust adaptive relative position and attitude control for spacecraft autonomous proximity

Area of Science:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Control Systems Theory
• Robotics

Background:

• Spacecraft rendezvous and docking require precise control, especially in close proximity operations.
• Kinematic couplings and model uncertainties pose significant challenges to achieving stable autonomous docking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate robust adaptive controllers for autonomous spacecraft close proximity operations.
• To address challenges posed by kinematic couplings and model uncertainties during docking.

Main Methods:

• Introduced a globally defined relative motion mechanical model for close proximity operations.
• Designed robust adaptive relative position and relative attitude controllers.
• Proved system stability, demonstrating uniformly ultimately bounded relative position and attitude.

Main Results:

• Successfully designed controllers that manage kinematic couplings and thrust misalignment.
• Demonstrated that the ultimate bound of system errors can be minimized by adjusting control parameters.
• Validated the controller performance through a representative numerical simulation.

Conclusions:

• The proposed control strategy ensures stable and predictable spacecraft behavior during autonomous docking.
• The developed model and controllers offer a robust solution for challenging close proximity operations.
• The findings contribute to the advancement of autonomous docking technologies in space exploration.