Trajectory Design and Control for Missed-Thrust Rendezvous

What is it about?

Safe and reliable spacecraft rendezvous maneuvers are crucial for numerous space missions. However, missed-thrust events (MTE), characterized by a sudden loss of thrust, present significant challenges that can jeopardize mission success. In this research, rendezvous strategies are designed to mitigate the impact of MTE on spacecraft equipped with electric propulsion. A resilient trajectory shaping and control methodology is developed to mitigate the effect of thrust failures. The new approach introduces a missed-thrust sensitivity grade (MTSG) to generate trajectories with reduced sensitivity to MTE, incorporating a finite-horizon linear quadratic regulator and zero-effort miss/zero-effort velocity guidance, together with an optimization of the final time.

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