Abstract The formation reconfiguration of multiple free-flying spacecraft is posed as an optimization problem involving minimum fuel expenditure. A method for obtaining simple solutions to this problem is proposed. The basic idea is to break up the formation reconfiguration process into a sequence of simple maneuvers involving a small number of spacecraft at a time. Moreover, the spacecraft move along straightline paths in the three-dimensional space. Thus, the minimum-fuel reconfiguration problem can be reduced to an optimization problem involving permutation groups. The proposed approach requires seeking fuel minimization over the set of all spacecraft permutation cycles of lengths ≥2. Examples are given to illustrate the application of the proposed method.


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    Title :

    Minimum-Fuel Formation Reconfiguration of Multiple Free-Flying Spacecraft


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    1999




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English



    Classification :

    BKL:    55.60 Raumfahrttechnik
    Local classification TIB:    770/7040