Differential drag spacecraft rendezvous using an adaptive Lyapunov control strategy

This paper introduces a novel Lyapunov-based adaptive control strategy for spacecraft maneuvers using atmospheric differential drag. The control forces required for rendezvous maneuvers at low Earth orbits can be generated by varying the aerodynamic drag affecting each spacecraft. This can be accomplished, for example, by rotating dedicated sets of drag panels. Thus, the relative spacecraft motion can be controlled without using any propellant since the motion of the panels can be powered by solar energy. A novel adaptive Lyapunov controller is designed, and a critical value for the relative drag acceleration that ensures Lyapunov stability is found. The critical value is used to adapt the Lyapunov controller, enhancing its performance. The method is validated using simulations. The results show that the Adaptive Lyapunov technique outperforms previous control strategies for differential drag based spacecraft maneuvering.

► A Lyapunov controller for S/C rendezvous using differential drag is presented.
► The critical value of the control acceleration that ensures stability is found.
► Demonstration of feasibility of the approach via numerical simulations.