[en] Rendezvous ; Circular restricted three-body problem (CR3BP) ; Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) ; Coupled orbit-attitude dynamics ; Hardware-in-the-loop ; Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC)
[en] Space missions to Near Rectilinear Halo Orbits (NRHOs) in the Earth-Moon system are upcoming. A rendezvous technique in cislunar space is proposed in this investigation, one that leverages coupled orbit and attitude dynamics in the Circular Restricted Three-body Problem (CR3BP). An autonomous Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) technique is demonstrated in which a chaser spacecraft approaches a target spacecraft in a sample southern 9:2 synodic-resonant L2 NRHO, one that currently serves as the baseline for NASA's Gateway. A two-layer guidance and control approach is contemplated. First, a nonlinear optimal controller identifies an appropriate baseline rendezvous path for guidance, both in position and orientation. As the spacecraft progresses along the pre-computed baseline path, navigation is performed through optical sensors that measure the relative pose of the chaser relative to the target. A Kalman filter processes these observations and offers state estimates. A linear controller compensates for any deviations identified from the predetermined rendezvous path. The efficacy of the GNC technique is tested by considering a complex scenario in which the rendezvous operation is conducted with an uncontrolled tumbling target. Hardware-in-the-loop laboratory experiments are conducted as a proof-of-concept to validate the guidance algorithm, with observations supplemented by optical navigation techniques.
Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) > SpaceR – Space Robotics
Researchers ; Professionals ; Students ; General public
[University of Luxembourg > Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SNT) > Space Robotics >]
