Speaker
Description
Effective Active Debris Removal relies greatly on the spacecraft's ability to synchronize its attitude with a tumbling target. Capturing tumbling, non-cooperative debris requires a servicer to perfectly match a target's chaotic spin state before physical contact.
This session breaks down a control strategy that uses relative navigation sensors to "lock" onto the spin states of non-cooperative objects. Details on a GNC architecture designed to bridge the gap between relative navigation and active control will be further developed. A focus is put on the transition from independent flight to a unified stack, specifically addressing the stabilization of underactuated systems.
Beyond the initial capture, the complexities of stabilizing the combined spacecraft stack are examined, particularly when dealing with unpredictable contact dynamics and thruster-induced disturbances. By analyzing these control laws in the context of ESA's ADRIOS mission requirements, a scalable roadmap for reliable, autonomous proximity operations is provided.
To conclude, a mapping of these capabilities onto the technical needs of upcoming European servicing missions is done, providing a path toward operational Zero Debris platforms.