Spacecraft Rendezvous Using Constant-Magnitude Low Thrust

What is it about?

Spacecraft rendezvous is a crucial aspect of space exploration and satellite servicing. It involves the precise positioning and maneuvering of one spacecraft in close proximity to another, often for the purpose of docking, repair, or other operations. Thus, spacecraft rendezvous is one of the most widely-studied problems in astronautics; the first spacecraft rendezvous missions date back to the dawn of the space age in the 1960s. This Note fills a noticeable gap in the extensively-studied subject of spacecraft rendezvous: Design of useful rendezvous laws for spacecraft propelled by means of a constant-magnitude low thrust. Both the feedback rendezvous law, as well as the time-optimal rendezvous law, derived using a convenient numerical framework for indirect optimization, can be applied in the case of constant-magnitude thrust. However, due to the constant-magnitude thrust constraint, a feedback law cannot attain the exact rendezvous conditions. Combining closed-loop with optimal minimum-time open-loop control can provide a reasonable compromise from the operational standpoint.

Featured Image