In this paper, a solution to the formation initialization (FI) problem for N distributed spacecraft located in deep space is presented. The solution is based on a three-phase sky search procedure that reduces the formation initialization problem for N distributed spacecraft to the simpler problem of initializing a set of sub-formations. An analytical proof demonstrating that the algorithm guarantees formation initialization for N spacecraft constrained to a plane is presented. An upper bound on the time to initialize a planar formation is also provided. Finally, the FI algorithm is demonstrated in simulation using NASA’s five-spacecraft Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) mission as an example.
Initialization of Distributed Spacecraft Formations
J of Astronaut Sci
The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences ; 52 , 4 ; 495-515
2004-12-01
21 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
Initialization of Distributed Spacecraft Formations
Springer Verlag | 2004
|Initialization of Distributed Spacecraft Formations
Online Contents | 2004
|Initialization of Distributed Spacecraft Formations
Online Contents | 2004
|