Rapid search method for a spacecraft attitude maneuver path with multiple constraints

Abstract The rapid attitude maneuver capability of spacecraft is required in many space missions. Due to the complex attitude constraints and limited satellite resources, the rapid on-orbit attitude maneuver is very challenging for spacecraft attitude control systems. To address this problem, a rapid attitude path search method named Constraint Path Mapping (CPM) is proposed to quickly obtain a safe attitude path. In the CPM method, the attitude constraint safety-mapping strategy is designed to map the attitude constraint space to the attitude safety space, allowing for efficient planning and improved processing of complex attitude constraints. For resource use, this paper adopts the Euler forward search and node safety search to avoid algorithm redundancy caused by the repeated processing of the constraints. Finally, the numerical simulation is performed to validate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. In particular, this method is expected to be tested on a reconnaissance satellite launched by the Shanghai Institute of Satellite Engineering in March 2021.