Hovering Formation Design and Control Based on Relative Orbit Elements

In the final approaching stage of an on-orbit servicing mission, hovering technology is widely applied to maintain the chasing satellite at a specified position relative to the reference satellite. Applicability of the conventional continuous-thrust control approach is limited because of its high requirements for the engine. In this study, a “teardrop” hovering formation is obtained by designing the chasing-satellite absolute orbit, and a set of relative orbit elements is introduced to describe the hovering formation. Explicit geometric meaning makes it convenient to apply the proposed hovering formation in practical engineering problems on on-orbit servicing missions of the chasing satellite. Moreover, based on relative orbit elements, a new impulsive control strategy is proposed to keep the chasing satellite in the hovering pattern for a long time. The effect of hovering formation on the required impulse is exhaustively analyzed. The control method for hovering formation movement is also derived. Furthe...