A Lyapunov-based controller for satellite formation reconfiguration in the presence of J(2) perturbations Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • A continuous-control scheme has been developed to reconfigure a satellite formation from an initial set of relative orbit parameters, to a desired set of relative orbit parameters. The control law is derived from a candidate Lyapunov function, and is proven to globally and asymptotically stabilize the current orbit with respect to the desired orbit, even in the presence of J 2 perturbations arising from the non-spherical nature of the Earth. By the use of mean elements in the control law, and by neglecting the differential J 2 accelerations, the control law can be simplified considerably, at the cost of negligible loss in accuracy. By initiating the reconfiguration maneuver at the appropriate position, it is shown that control requirements can be considerably lowered, even with fixed gains. An algorithm is presented to obtain this appropriate position for reconfigurations not limited to near-circular formations. The control law is tested on formations, both with low-eccentricity reference orbits and high-eccentricity reference orbits.

published proceedings

  • Spaceflight Mechanics 2004, Vol 119, Pt 1-3

author list (cited authors)

  • Sengupta, P., & Vadali, S. R.

complete list of authors

  • Sengupta, P||Vadali, SR

publication date

  • August 2005