Rotational Control with Plume Impingement to Aid Rigid Capture of an Uncooperative Failed Satellite

Abstract

In the framework of Active Debris Removal (ADR) missions employing rigid capture mechanism, the rotational state of the target object greatly influences the feasibility, safety and cost of the capture operations. In this work, the impingement with thruster’s plume gases is studied as a strategy to control the target tumbling motion and aid the final approach and robotic operations. The target objects considered in this study are small spacecraft in low Earth orbit, i.e. asset of large constellations, which may require in the future an ADR service solution to ensure the space environment sustainability. A simplified model of the thruster plume is used, and a guidance and control solution is proposed to drive the uncooperative target towards some useful rotational states, defined considering the target geometrical and inertia properties. Simulation results are presented, discussing the feasibility, cost and robustness of the introduced control strategies to increase the collaboration of the failed satellite to be serviced. An additional output is the provision of preliminary guidelines for the grapple fixture location to allow future servicing to an uncooperative failed space assets when a tumbling rate damping phase is required.