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Control of Spacecraft Formations Around the Libration Points Using Electric Motors with One Bit of Resolution

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Abstract

This paper investigates a formation control problem for two space vehicles in the vicinity of the L 2 libration point of the Sun-Earth/Moon system. The objective is to accurately regulate the relative position vector between the vehicles to a desired configuration, under tight tolerances. It is shown that the formation control problem is solvable using six constant thrust electric actuators requiring only one bit of resolution, and bounded switching frequency. The proposed control law is hybrid, and it coordinates the sequence of on-off switches of the thrusters so as to achieve the control objective and, at the same time, avoid high-frequency switching.

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Notes

  1. The controller discussed in this section is also discussed in the conference proceedings [13].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 2J7, Canada

    Edoardo Serpelloni & Manfredi Maggiore

  2. University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, Toronto, ON, M3H 5T6, Canada

    Christopher J. Damaren

Authors
  1. Edoardo Serpelloni
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  2. Manfredi Maggiore
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  3. Christopher J. Damaren
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manfredi Maggiore.

Additional information

Preliminary versions of parts of this material appeared in the conference proceedings [12, 13].

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Serpelloni, E., Maggiore, M. & Damaren, C.J. Control of Spacecraft Formations Around the Libration Points Using Electric Motors with One Bit of Resolution. J of Astronaut Sci 61, 367–390 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40295-014-0030-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40295-014-0030-0

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