Special Issue "Autonomous Formation Systems: Guidance, Dynamics and Control"

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Aerospace Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2023 | Viewed by 608

Special Issue Editors

Associate Professor, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Interests: satellite formation/cluster dynamics and control; satellite constellation design and control; drag-free satellite mechanics and control
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Associate Professor, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: astrodynamics; spacecraft relative motion; satellite formation flying; asteroid exploration; trajectory design and optimization
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School of Optical-Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
Interests: spacecraft dynamics and control; asteroid exploration; multi-agent systems
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Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China
Interests: robotics; navigation; optimal filtering; orbit determination; hybridization theory
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Autonomous formation systems have made several previously difficult missions possible, as well as enhanced the quality of many existing missions. A formation system comprising multiple members not only inherits the challenges encountered by a single-member system, but there are also new concerns to address in order to achieve cooperation. Multiple spacecraft formations, for example, are engaged in the dynamical coupling of orbit and attitude throughout flight, as are large-scale systems with communication time delays, etc.

This Special Issue aims to collect broad research findings in autonomous formation systems, including the topics of guidance, dynamics, control, planning, and decision making. We are especially interested in recent studies involving multi-body autonomous systems. We invite submissions of papers on all relevant topics, including in the fields of aerospace, robotics, and aircraft.

Dr. Jihe Wang
Dr. Wei Wang
Dr. Chengxi Zhang
Dr. Ran Sun
Dr. Jin Wu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2300 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • spacecraft formation, constellation systems
  • robotics, aircraft systems
  • mission management and trajectory planning
  • guidance, dynamics, and control
  • swarm intelligence of networked systems

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Dynamics and Control of Satellite Formations Invariant under the Zonal Harmonic Perturbation
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 4969; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13084969 - 15 Apr 2023
Viewed by 391
Abstract
A satellite formation operating in low-altitude orbits is subject to perturbations associated to the higher-order harmonics of the gravitational field, which cause a degradation of the formation configurations designed based on the unperturbed model of the Hill–Clohessy–Wiltshire equations. To compensate for these effects, [...] Read more.
A satellite formation operating in low-altitude orbits is subject to perturbations associated to the higher-order harmonics of the gravitational field, which cause a degradation of the formation configurations designed based on the unperturbed model of the Hill–Clohessy–Wiltshire equations. To compensate for these effects, periodic reconfiguration maneuvers are necessary, requiring the prior allocation of a propellant mass budget and, eventually, the use of resources from the ground segment, having a non-negligible impact on the complexity and cost of the mission. Using the Hamiltonian formalism and canonical transformations, a model is developed that allows designing configurations for formation flying invariant with respect to the zonal harmonic perturbation. Jn invariant configurations can be characterized, selecting the drift rate (or boundedness condition) and the amplitude of the oscillations, based on four parameters which can be easily converted in position and velocity components for the satellites of the formation. From this model, a guidance strategy is developed to inject a satellite approaching another spacecraft into a bounded relative trajectory about it and the optimal time for the maneuver, minimizing the total ΔV, is identified. The effectiveness of the model and of the guidance strategy is verified on some scenarios of interest for formations operating in a sun-synchronous and a medium-inclination low Earth orbit and a medium-inclination lunar orbit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Autonomous Formation Systems: Guidance, Dynamics and Control)
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