Robust optimal rendezvous using differential drag

The practical realization of the di erential drag technique for orbital relative maneuvers must cope with the several and severe uncertainty sources a ecting drag modeling. Neglecting these uncertainties might yield to oversimpli ed solutions whose representation of a real-life scenario is questionable. The rst outcome of this study consists in the synthesis of a robust optimal controller which combines di erential atness theory and the scenario approach to generate a reference path which can be easily followed. The second outcome is the characterization of the relevant uncertainties of the di erential drag problem, with a special focus on the aerodynamic force. The developments are validated in a highly detailed simulation environment including, among the perturbations, advanced drag modeling and coupled attitude and orbital dynamics.