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Virginia Tech

Classical Element Feedback Control for Spacecraft Orbital Maneuvers

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The recent addition of autonomous formation flying spacecraft to the world's satellite fleet provides new motivation to study feedback control techniques. In this thesis, we develop nonlinear orbit control laws for use in spacecraft orbital maneuvers, and spacecraft formation flying. We apply these new control laws to a number of sample maneuvers, including formation stablishment and formation keeping maneuvers for NASA-Goddard's Leonardo-BRDF formation, and coupled orbit, and attitude maneuvers for HokieSat, a spacecraft designed, and built by students at Virginia Tech to fly in the Ionospheric Observation Nanosatellite Formation (ION-F). To provide target orbit states for feedback control, we develop and apply an algorithm to calculate a formation master orbit representing the geometric center of the formation. We also define a new technique for choosing orbital element feedback gains which appropriately scales the gains for orbit maintenance, and provides an excellent starting point for gain optimization. The orbital element feedback control law, augmented by mean motion control, and applied with appropriate gains, forces asymptotic convergence to a spacecraft target orbit, for a large variety of spacecraft maneuvers.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Aerospace and Ocean Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Aerospace and Ocean Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2002

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Naasz, Bo James
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Hall, Christopher D.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Lutze, Frederick H. Jr.
  • Woolsey, Craig A.

Subjects

dc:subject × 2

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-05312002-124715
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/33354

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Naasz, Bo James. Classical Element Feedback Control for Spacecraft Orbital Maneuvers. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33354