A Flatness-Based Trajectory Planning Algorithm for Rendezvous of Single-Thruster Spacecraft

Abstract This work presents a trajectory planning algorithm for spacecraft rendezvous with a passive target. The main assumption is that the chaser vehicle has a single thruster and an attitude control system (e.g. reaction wheels) providing the necessary torque to change its orientation, which may be the situation for small spacecraft or in the case of thruster failure. The goal is to design fuel-optimal manoeuvres while satisfying operational constraints. This time-continuous optimal control problem is addressed using the translational state transition matrix and the attitude flatness property to transform the dynamics into algebraic relations. Then, the problem is transformed to a non-linear programming problem which has to be solved. Simulation results are showed and discussed.