Scholarlink

<p>In-space assembly and servicing missions demand precise trajectory planning to prevent thruster plume impingement on sensitive components of the client spacecraft. In this paper we present a novel mathematical formulation for incorporating multiple ellipsoidal thruster-pointing constraints into the six-degree-of-freedom fuel-optimal rendezvous problem, using a target-relative Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem dynamical model. By analytically mapping thruster ray intersections with ellipsoidal exclusion zones onto a sphere, the method enables the construction of smooth activation functions that deactivate thrusters when violations would occur. This formulation is integrated into an indirect optimal control framework solved via single shooting, offering efficient convergence and satisfaction of the necessary conditions for optimality. The approach is validated through three simulation scenarios, including a servicing mission at the Sun–Earth L2 point, all demonstrating adherence to pointing constraints while achieving fuel-optimal trajectories. The method is flexible and scalable, making it well-suited to complex spacecraft geometries.</p>

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Ellipsoidal Thruster Pointing Constrained Optimal Trajectories for Satellite Servicing at SEL2

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月21日

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  • Marin Hubert,
  • Himmat Panag,
  • Robyn Woollands

摘要

In-space assembly and servicing missions demand precise trajectory planning to prevent thruster plume impingement on sensitive components of the client spacecraft. In this paper we present a novel mathematical formulation for incorporating multiple ellipsoidal thruster-pointing constraints into the six-degree-of-freedom fuel-optimal rendezvous problem, using a target-relative Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem dynamical model. By analytically mapping thruster ray intersections with ellipsoidal exclusion zones onto a sphere, the method enables the construction of smooth activation functions that deactivate thrusters when violations would occur. This formulation is integrated into an indirect optimal control framework solved via single shooting, offering efficient convergence and satisfaction of the necessary conditions for optimality. The approach is validated through three simulation scenarios, including a servicing mission at the Sun–Earth L2 point, all demonstrating adherence to pointing constraints while achieving fuel-optimal trajectories. The method is flexible and scalable, making it well-suited to complex spacecraft geometries.