This paper analyzes the problem of precise autonomous orbit control of a spacecraft in a low Earth orbit. Autonomous onboard orbit control means that the spacecraft maintains its ground track close to a reference trajectory, without operator intervention. The problem is formulated as a specific case of two spacecraft in formation in which one, the reference, is virtual and affected only by the Earth’s gravitational field. A new parametrization, the relative Earth-fixed elements, is introduced to describe the relative motion of the two spacecraft’s subsatellite points on the Earth surface. These relative elements enable the translation of absolute-into-relative orbit-control requirements and the straightforward use of modern control-theory techniques for orbit control. As a demonstration, linear and quadratic optimum regulators are designed and compared, by means of numerical simulations, with an analytical autonomous orbit-control algorithm that has been validated in flight. The differences of the numerical and analytical control methods are identified and discussed.


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    Title :

    Virtual Formation Method for Precise Autonomous Absolute Orbit Control


    Contributors:
    De Florio, S. (author) / D’Amico, S. (author) / Radice, G. (author)

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    2014-03-01




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




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