Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-42gr6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-24T08:24:19.954Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Orbit Determination of Spacecraft Formation Flying With Slowly Rotating Asteroids

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 March 2014

HuiXin Yang ,
XiXiang Yang  and
WeiHua Zhang
HuiXin Yang*
Affiliation:
(College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China, 410073)
XiXiang Yang
Affiliation:
(College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China, 410073)
WeiHua Zhang
Affiliation:
(College of Aerospace Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha, China, 410073)
*
(E-mail: yanghuixin2012@gmail.com)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article proposes a novel method to autonomously determine the relative orbits of a small spacecraft formation flying with a slowly rotating near-Earth asteroid for the asteroid mitigation mission. A combined model of spacecraft-to-asteroid measurements with inter-spacecraft communication is built up. The dynamic model accounting for the perturbations is derived to describe the state variables of the Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). The Lyapunov function approach is used to design a control law to maintain the orbits of the spacecraft formation. Four navigation scenarios are presented based on the different combinations of multiple measurements: two of them are non-collaborative scenarios which only include the spacecraft-to-asteroid measurements in the measurement models, while the other two are collaborative scenarios with the inter-spacecraft communication added into the measurement models. Simulation results are analysed and compared with each other to show the improvements of the filter performance in the aspects of the convergence speed and the accuracy of the estimator.

Keywords

Spacecraft-to-asteroidOrbit determinationInter-spacecraftUnscented Kalman filter
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , Volume 67 , Issue 4 , July 2014 , pp. 687 - 710
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Navigation 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Crassidis, J.L. and Junkins, J.L. (2011). Optimal estimation of dynamic systems, Chapman & Hall.Google Scholar
Chung, L.R. (2006). Orbit determination methods for deep space drag-free controlled laser interferometry missions. Master Dissertation, University of Maryland.Google Scholar
Cui, P.Y., Chang, X.H. and Cui, H.T. (2010). Autonomous orbit determination of deep space probe based on the Sun line-of-sight vector. 3rd International Symposium on Systems and Control in Aeronautics and Astronautics (ISSCAA), Harbin, China, 540–544.Google Scholar
Dionne, K. (2009). Improving Autonomous Optical Navigation for Small Body Exploration Using Range Measurement. AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, Chicago, USA.Google Scholar
Guo, C.F., Cai, H. and Hu, Z.D. (2013). Nonlinear filtering techniques for geomagnetic navigation. Journal of Aerospace Engineering, Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers Part G.Google Scholar
Hu, W.D. and Scheeres, D.J. (2002). Spacecraft Motion about Slowly Rotating Asteroids. Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, 25(4), 765–775.Google Scholar
Johnson, A.E. and Matthies, L.H. (1999). Precise image-based motion estimation for autonomous small body exploration. Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and Automation in Space, 440, 627–634.Google Scholar
Kelbel, D., Lee, T., Long, A., Carpenter, J.R. and Gramling, C. (2001). Evalution of relative navigation algorithms for formation-flying satellites. Proceedings of the 2001 Flight Mechanics Symposium, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.Google Scholar
Li, S., Cui, P.Y. and Cui, H.T. (2007). Vision-aided inertial navigation for pinpoint planetary landing. Aerospace Science and Technology, 11(6), 499–506.Google Scholar
Li, S., Cui, P.Y. and Cui, H.T. (2006). Autonomous navigation and guidance for landing on asteroids. Aerospace Science and Technology, 10(3), 239–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, S. and Peng, Y.M. (2011). Radio beacons/IMU integrated navigation for Mars entry. Advances in Space Research, 47, 1265–1279.Google Scholar
Liu, J., Kang, Z.W., White, P., Ma, J. and Tian, J.W. (2011). Doppler/XNAV-integrated navigation system using small-area X-ray sensor. Radar, Sonar & Navigation, 5(9), 1010–1017.Google Scholar
Ma, X., Fang, J.C. and Ning, X.L. (2013). An overview of the autonomous navigation for a gravity-assist interplanetary spacecraft. Progress in Aerospace Sciences, 63, 56–66.Google Scholar
Maddock, C.A. (2010). On the dynamics, navigation and control of a spacecraft formation of solar concentrators in the proximity of an asteroid. University of Glasgow, PhD thesis.Google Scholar
Oh, S.M. and Johnson, E.N. (2007). Relative Motion Estimation for Vision-based Formation Flight using Unscented Kalman Filter. AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference and Exhibit, Hilton Head, South Carolina.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Psiaki, M.L. (1999). Autonomous orbit determination for two spacecraft from relative position measurements. Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 22(2), 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ray, P.S., Sheikh, S.I., Graven, P.H., Wolff, M.T., Wood, K.S. and Gendreau, K.C. (2008). Deep space navigation using celestial X-ray sources. National Technical Meeting of The Institute of Navigation, San Diego, CA, 101–109.Google Scholar
Thornton, C.L. and Border, J.S. (2002). Radiometric tracking techniques for deep space navigation. Deep Space Communication and Navigation Series.Google Scholar
Trawny, N., Mourikis, A.I., Roumeliotis, S.I., Johnson, A.E. and Montgomery, J.F. (2007). Vision-aided inertial navigation for pin-point landing using observations of mapped landmarks. Journal of Field Robotics, 24(5), 357–378.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vasile, M. (2009). A multi-mirror solution for the deflection of dangerous NEOS. Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation, 14(12), 4139–4152.Google Scholar
Vasile, M. and Maddock, C.A.. (2012). Design of a Formation of Solar Pumped Lasers for Asteroid Deflection. Advances in Space Research, 50(7), 891–905.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vetrisano, M. and Vasile, M. (2012). Collaborative Guidance Navigation and Control of Disaggregated Spacecraft in the Proximity of Minor Bodies. 63rd International Astronautical Congress. Naples, Italy. IAC-12.C1.3.11.Google Scholar
Vetrisano, M., Yang, H. and Vasile, M. (2012). Autonomous Navigation of Spacecraft Formations for Asteroid Exploration. International Symposium on Spacecraft Flight Dynamics, Pasadena, USA.Google Scholar
Yim, J.R., Crassidis, J.L. and Junkins, J.L. (2000). Autonomous orbit navigation of interplanetary spacecraft. AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Denver, CO, 53–61.Google Scholar