A Control Strategy for an Orbital Manipulator Equipped with an External Actuator at the End-Effector

Abstract

This paper exploits the robotic capabilities of an orbital manipulator equipped with an actuation module at its end-effector to perform close-proximity robotic operations. The proposed control strategy enables repositioning the system's center-of-mass by reconfiguring the manipulator configuration and using the end-effector-mounted thrusting mechanism to achieve displacement. The key advantage of the proposed method is that the plume impingement due to thruster firing of the servicer satellite in close-proximity operations towards the client is mitigated. This is achieved by regulating the internal motion of the manipulator such that the thrust firing does not occur near the space asset. The effectiveness of the controller is verified through a multibody dynamic simulation of an orbital manipulator.