Trajectory Design and Control for Missed-Thrust Rendezvous

A Missed-Thrust Event (MTE) poses a significant risk during space rendezvous, where sudden and unpredictable loss of thrust can jeopardize mission success, potentially leading to satellite collision or mission abort. In this seminar, we will explore a comprehensive framework designed to mitigate the effects of missed thrust, focusing on resilient control strategies and trajectory planning. The goal is to minimize deviations from the planned trajectory and ensure the rendezvous maneuver is completed accurately, even in the presence of thrust failures, with minimal delays.
The approach involves resilient trajectory shaping and control distribution throughout the maneuver period to reduce sensitivity to missed thrust. By optimizing both the trajectory and control, the methodology accommodates significant missed thrust durations without risking mission success. Additionally, we will present simulation results demonstrating the resilience of this approach under various failure scenarios, including the ability to recover from severe thrust losses while still achieving the desired rendezvous conditions.

The work is towards M.Sc. degree under the supervision of Professor Pini Gurfil, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology