Wave Based Control Analysis and Experimental Validation for Reliable Space Transportation Applications

Abstract

In the next future, space debris mitigation is going to become a critical issue. In one of the most possible active debris removal mission scenarios, a space tug exploits flexible systems, such as nets and tethers, to capture a debris. A controlled brake is performed to drop the orbital velocity and put the system on a ballistic reentry path through the atmosphere. A promising control strategy is the Wave Based Control (WBC), able to modulate the chaser spacecraft rqs thrust to avoid undesired and dangerous effects such as whiplash and bounce back. Stability analysis is conducted to identify the stability region of the controller and its performances to control the target velocity, relative to the chaser. The effectiveness of the proposed method was experimentally tested in the SatLeash experiment, carried out in the 65th ESA parabolic flight campaign in Fall 2016. The obtained results are presented: the reconstructed relative dynamics between the floating object and the slider of the linear actuator shows the capability and strength of the proposed control strategy. In the end, the control theory is mathematically analyzed, justifying the obtained empirical parameter and robustness of the controller.

Paolo Lunghi

Assistant Professor of Aerospace Systems

Aiming for autonomous Guidance, Navigation, and Control for spacecraft.