Related papers: Adaptive Navigation Strategy for Low-Thrust Proxim…
Small body exploration is a pertinent challenge due to low gravity environments and strong sensitivity to perturbations like Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP). Thus, autonomous methods are being developed to enable safe navigation and control…
The spacecraft attitude tracking problem is addressed with actuator faults and uncertainties among inertias, external disturbances, and, in particular, state estimates. A continuous sliding mode attitude controller is designed using…
This study investigates the application of modern control theory to improve the precision of spacecraft orbit maneuvers in low Earth orbit under the influence of solar radiation pressure. A full order observer based feedback control…
This paper investigates the design of reduced-order observers for robotic manipulators. Observer stability conditions are obtained based on a Lyapunov analysis and the proposed observer is enhanced with a hybrid scheme that may adjust the…
We present an approach to enhance wheeled planetary rover dead-reckoning localization performance by leveraging the use of zero-type constraint equations in the navigation filter. Without external aiding, inertial navigation solutions…
Current practice for asteroid close proximity maneuvers requires extremely accurate characterization of the environmental dynamics and precise spacecraft positioning prior to the maneuver. This creates a delay of several months between the…
A robust drift-safe rendezvous trajectory optimization tool is developed in this work, with applications to orbital rendezvous and proximity operations. The method is based on direct collocation and utilizes a sequential convex programming…
Multi-agent systems are increasingly applied in space missions, including distributed space systems, resilient constellations, and autonomous rendezvous and docking operations. A critical emerging application is collaborative spacecraft…
The optimization of low-thrust, multi-revolution orbit transfer trajectories is often regarded as a difficult problem in modern astrodynamics. In this paper, a flexible and computationally efficient approach is presented for the…
Spacecraft relative motion planning is concerned with the design and execution of maneuvers relative to a nominal target. These types of maneuvers are frequently utilized in missions such as rendezvous and docking, satellite inspection and…
Machine learning techniques have demonstrated their effectiveness in achieving autonomy and optimality for nonlinear and high-dimensional dynamical systems. However, traditional black-box machine learning methods often lack formal stability…
We study the nonlinear observability of a systems states in view of how well they are observable and what control inputs would improve the convergence of their estimates. We use these insights to develop an observability-aware…
The attitude control of a spacecraft is integral to achieving mission success. However, failures in actuators such as reaction wheels are detrimental and can often lead to an early end of mission. We propose a Lyapunov-based adaptive…
Control of systems operating in unexplored environments is challenging due to lack of complete model knowledge. Additionally, under measurement noises, data collected from onboard sensors are of limited accuracy. This paper considers…
The paper presents a new, robust control algorithm for position trajectory tracking in a 3D space, dedicated to underactuated airships. In order to take into account real characteristics of such vehicles, and to reflect practically…
Observability of the target, safety, and robustness are often recognized as critical factors in ensuring successful far-range proximity operations. The application of angles-only (AO) navigation for proximity operations is often met with…
Relative state estimation is crucial for vision-based swarms to estimate and compensate for the unavoidable drift of visual odometry. For autonomous drones equipped with the most compact sensor setting -- a stereo camera that provides a…
This study presents autonomous guidance and control strategies for the purpose of reconfiguring close-range multi-satellite formations. The formation under consideration includes $N$ under-actuated deputy satellites and an uncontrolled…
This paper presents an integrated model-learning predictive control scheme for spacecraft orbit-attitude station-keeping in the vicinity of asteroids. The orbiting probe relies on optical and laser navigation while attitude measurements are…
This paper presents an adaptive visual servoing framework for robotic on-orbit servicing (OOS), specifically designed for capturing tumbling satellites. The vision-guided robotic system is capable of selecting optimal control actions in the…