On-Ground Path Planning Experiments for Multiple Satellites

Abstract

This paper presents a path-planning and collision avoidance method for satellite formations and swarms and its validation in simulation and in a testbed on ground. The pathplanning technique uses the definition of several behavior functions like Gather, Avoid and Dock, which form a virtual potential from which desired velocities are computed. A controller is used to achieve these velocities by commanding the onboard thrusters. This method has been validated in simulation and on the Test Environment for Applications of Multiple Spacecraft (TEAMS), a test facility for satellite formations and swarms based on air cushion vehicles. The vehicles are floating on two granite tables with a total experiment area of 5m x 4m. Each vehicle has a thruster system and its own onboard computer on which the presented path-planning algorithm is running together with a Kalman-Filter for state estimation, an attitude control and a thruster actuation algorithm. Experiments performed in simulation and on the testbed include formation acquisition and reconfiguration as well as collision avoidance. Experiment results are presented and show the performance and the robustness of the implemented guidance algorithm, as well as the test readiness of the TEAMS facility.