Minimum-Fuel Control Strategy for Spacecraft Formation Reconfiguration via Finite-Time Maneuvers

摘要

This paper addresses the minimum-fuel spacecraft formation reconfiguration maneuver in J(2) perturbed near-circular orbits. In this study, only the deputy is assumed to be maneuverable and capable of providing a piecewise constant control thrust. The optimal control problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear programming problem. To make the proposed strategy compliant with the requirements deriving from a realistic flight scenario, the collision avoidance and the maneuvering time constraints dictated by mission operations are included in the mathematical formulation. A linear dynamics model based on relative orbit elements parameterization and its associated closed-form solution are used to impose the boundary conditions, avoiding the dynamics integration within the optimization process. Several examples are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.