Cooperative Angles-Only Relative Navigation Algorithm for Multi-Spacecraft Formation in Close-Range

As to solve the collaborative relative navigation problem for near-circular orbiting small satellites in close-range under GNSS denied environment,a novel consensus constrained relative navigation algorithm based on the lever arm effect of the sensor offset from the spacecraft center of mass is proposed.Firstly,the orbital propagation model for the relative motion of multi-spacecraft is established based on Hill-Clohessy-Wiltshire dynamics and the line-of-sight measurement under sensor offset condition is modeled in Local Vertical Local Horizontal frame.Secondly,the consensus constraint model for the relative orbit state is constructed by introducing the geometry constraint between the spacecraft,based on which the consensus unscented Kalman filter is designed.Thirdly,the observability analysis is done and the necessary conditions of the sensor offset to make the state observable are obtained.Lastly,digital simulations are conducted to verify the proposed algorithm,where the comparison to the unconstrained case is also done.The results show that the estimated error of the relative position converges very quickly,the location error is smaller than 10m under the condition of 10−3 rad level camera and 5m offset.

Angles-only relative navigation in highly elliptical orbits

For angles-only relative navigation system only measures line-of-sight information,there are inherent problems in the ability to determine the range between Chaser and Target. Angles-only relative navigation is an attractive alternative for inspecting or rendezvous with noncooperative target,if adequate accuracy can be achieved. Angles-only relative navigation model considering J2 perturbation is presented for tracking and rendezvous with noncooperative target in highly elliptical orbit. Impulsive out-of-plane maneuvers of the Chaser are used to improve the navigation accuracy. The first impulse burns in cross-track directions to change the orbit inclination of the Chaser. The second impulse burns after one orbit period to change the orbit of the Chaser back. The simulation results show that the relative navigation system without maneuvers can't correct the initial state errors,while impulsive out-ofplane maneuvers of the Chaser improves the navigation accuracy. Angles-only relative navigation with chaser vehicle maneuvers to improve observability is effective when the spacecrafts are in highly elliptical orbits.

Research on the strategy of angles-only relative navigation for autonomous rendezvous

This paper considers the problem of angles-only relative navigation for autonomous rendezvous. Methods for determining degree of observability （DO0） and latent range information of orbital maneuver are proposed for analyzing and enhancing the precision of relative position and velocity estimation. The equations of angles-only relative navigation are set forth on the con- dition that optical camera is the only viable sensor for relative measurement, and expressions for the DO0 of relative navigation are obtained by using the Newton iterative method. The latent range information of orbital maneuver is analyzed, which is employed to enhance the DOO of angles-only relative navigation. Simulation result shows that DOO is effective to describe the observability level of relative position and velocity, and the latent range information is useful in enhancing the DOO of the angles-only relative navigation.

Relative orbit determination algorithm of space targets with passive observation

Angles-only relative orbit determination for space non-cooperative targets based on passive sensor is subject to weakly observable problem of the relative state between two spacecraft. Previously, the evidence for angles-only observability was found by using cylindrical dynamics, however, the solution of orbit determination is still not provided. This study develops a relative orbit determination algorithm with the cylindrical dynamics based on differential evolution. Firstly, the relative motion dynamics and line-of-sight measurement model for nearcircular orbit are established in cylindrical coordinate system.Secondly, the observability is qualitatively analyzed by using the dynamics and measurement model where the unobservable geometry is found. Then, the angles-only relative orbit determination problem is modeled into an optimal searching frame and an improved differential evolution algorithm is introduced to solve the problem. Finally, the proposed algorithm is verified and tested by a set of numerical simulations in the context of highEarth and low-Earth cases. The results show that initial relative orbit determination(IROD) solution with an appropriate accuracy in a relative short span is achieved, which can be used to initialize the navigation filter.

GPS/VISNAV integrated relative navigation and attitude determination system for ultra-close spacecraft formation flying

For the improvement of accuracy and better fault-tolerant performance, a global position system （GPS）/vision navigation （VISNAV） integrated relative navigation and attitude determination approach is presented for ultra-close spacecraft formation flying. Onboard GPS and VISNAV system are adopted and a federal Kalman filter architecture is used for the total navigation system design. Simulation results indicate that the integrated system can provide a total improvement of relative navigation and attitude estimation performance in accuracy and fault-tolerance.

Inter-satellite Link Topology Design and Relative Navigation for Satellite Clusters

A distributed relative navigation approach via inter-satellite sensing and communication for satellite clusters is proposed. The inter-satellite link(ISL)is used for ranging and exchanging data for the relative navigation,which can improve the autonomy of the satellite cluster. The ISL topology design problem is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem where the energy consumption and the navigation performance are considered. Further,the relative navigation is performed in a distributed fashion,where each satellite in the cluster makes observations and communicates with its neighbors via the ISL locally such that the transmission consumption and the computational complexity for the navigation are reduced. The ISL topology optimization problem is solved via the NSGA-Ⅱ algorithm,and the consensus Kalman filter is used for the distributed relative navigation. The proposed approach is flexible to varying tasks,with satellites joining or leaving the cluster anytime,and is robust to the failure of an individual satellite. Numerical simulations are presented to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach.

Parametric message passing-based relative navigation in joint tactical information distribution system

Relative navigation is a key feature in the joint tactical information distribution system（JTIDS）.A parametric message passing algorithm based on factor graph is proposed to perform relative navigation in JTIDS.First of all,the joint posterior distribution of all the terminals＇ positions is represented by factor graph.Because of the nonlinearity between the positions and time-of-arrival（TOA） measurement,messages cannot be obtained in closed forms by directly using the sum-product algorithm on factor graph.To this end,the Euclidean norm is approximated by Taylor expansion.Then,all the messages on the factor graph can be derived in Gaussian forms,which enables the terminals to transmit means and covariances.Finally,the impact of major error sources on the navigation performance are evaluated by Monte Carlo simulations,e.g.,range measurement noise,priors of position uncertainty and velocity noise.Results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the extended Kalman filter and cooperative extended Kalman filter in both static and mobile scenarios of the JTIDS.

Relative Navigation of Long-Range Non-Cooperative Targets Based on Monocular Sequence Images

Along with the increase of the number of failed satellites,plus space debris,year by year,it will take considerable manpower and resources if we rely just on ground surveillance and early warning.An alternative effective way would be to use autonomous long-range non-cooperative target relative navigation to solve this problem.For longrange non-cooperative targets,the stereo cameras or lidars that are commonly used would not be applicable.This paper studies a relative navigation method for long-range relative motion estimation of non-cooperative targets using only a monocular camera.Firstly,the paper provides the nonlinear relative orbit dynamics equations and then derives the discrete recursive form of the dynamics equations.An EKF filter is then designed to implement the relative navigation estimation.After that,the relative"locally weakly observability"theory for nonlinear systems is used to analyze the observability of monocular sequence images.The analysis results show that by relying only on monocular sequence images it has the possibility of deducing the relative navigation for long-range non-cooperative targets.Finally,numerical simulations show that the method given in this paper can achieve a complete estimation of the relative motion of longrange non-cooperative targets without conducting orbital maneuvers.

Second-order divided difference filter for vision-based relative navigation

A second-order divided difference filter (SDDF) is derived for integrating line of sight measurement from vision sensor with acceleration and angular rate measurements of the follower to estimate the precise relative position,velocity and attitude of two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).The second-order divided difference filter which makes use of multidimensional interpolation formulations to approximate the nonlinear transformations could achieve more accurate estimation and faster convergence from inaccurate initial conditions than standard extended Kalman filter.The filter formulation is based on relative motion equations.The global attitude parameterization is given by quarternion,while a generalized three-dimensional attitude representation is used to define the local attitude error.Simulation results are shown to compare the performance of the second-order divided difference filter with a standard extended Kalman filter approach.

Relative navigation for satellite formation flight using a continuous-discrete converted measurement Kalman filter

The present paper develops an approach of relative orbit determination for satellite formation flight.Inter-satellite measurements by the onboard devices of the satellite were chosen to perform this relative navigation,and the equations of relative motion expressed in the Earth Centered Inertial frame were used to eliminate the assumption of the circular reference orbit.The relative orbit estimation was achieved through a continuous-discrete converted measurement Kalman filter design,in which the measurements were transformed to the inertial frame to avoid the linearization error of the observation equation.In addition,the situation of the coarse measurement period(only microwave radar measurements are available)existing was analyzed.The numerical simulation results verify the validity of the navigation approach,and it has been proved that this approach can be applied to the formation with an elliptical reference orbit.

Analytic Initial Relative Orbit Solution for Angles-Only Space Rendezvous Using Hybrid Dynamics Method

A closed-form solution to the angles-only initial relative orbit determination(IROD)problem for space rendezvous with non-cooperated target is developed,where a method of hybrid dynamics with the concept of virtual formation is introduced to analytically solve the problem.Emphasis is placed on developing the solution based on hybrid dynamics(i.e.,Clohessy-Wiltshire equations and two-body dynamics),obtaining formation geometries that produce relative orbit state observability,and deriving the approximate analytic error covariance for the IROD solution.A standard Monte Carlo simulation system based on two-body dynamics is used to verify the feasibility and evaluate the performance proposed algorithms.The sensitivity of the solution accuracy to the formation geometry,observation numbers is presented and discussed.

Non-linear Dynamics Method to Angles-Only Navigation for Non-cooperative Rendezvous of Spacecraft

Aiming at the problem of relative navigation for non-cooperative rendezvous of spacecraft,this paper proposes a new angles-only navigation architecture using non-linear dynamics method. This method does not solve the problem of poor observability of angles-only navigation through orbital or attitude maneuvering,but improves the observability of angles-only navigation through capturing the non-linearity of the system in the evolution of relative motion. First,three relative dynamics models and their corresponding line-of-sight(LoS)measurement equations are introduced,including the rectilinear state relative dynamics model,the curvilinear state relative dynamics model,and the relative orbital elements(ROE)state relative dynamics model. Then,an observability analysis theory based on the Gramian matrix is introduced to determine which relative dynamics model could maximize the observability of angles-only navigation. Next,an adaptive extended Kalman filtering scheme is proposed to solve the problem that the angles-only navigation filter using the non-linear dynamics method is sensitive to measurement noises. Finally,the performances of the proposed angles-only navigation architecture are tested by means of numerical simulations,which demonstrates that the angles-only navigation filtering scheme without orbital or attitude maneuvering is completely feasible through improving the modeling of the relative dynamics and LoS measurement equations.

Review of space relative navigation based on angles-only measurements

Relative navigation is a key enabling technology for space missions such as on-orbit servicing and space situational awareness.Given that there are several special advantages of space relative navigation using angles-only measurements from passive optical sensors,angles-only relative navigation is considered as one of the best potential approaches in the field of space relative navigation.However,angles-only relative navigation is well-known for its range observability problem.To overcome this observability problem,many studies have been conducted over the past decades.In this study,we present a comprehensive review of state-of-the-art space relative navigation based on angles-only measurements.The emphasis is on the observability problem and solutions to angles-only relative navigation,where the review of the solutions is categorized into four classes based on the intrinsic principle:complicated dynamics approach,multi-line of sight(multi-LOS)approach,sensor offset center-of-mass approach,and orbit maneuver approach.Then,the fight demonstration results of angles-only relative navigation in the two projects are briefly reviewed.Finally,conclusions of this study and recommendations for further research are presented.

A study on dual quaternion based cooperative relative navigation of multiple UAVs with monocular vision-inertial integration

This paper addresses a cooperative relative navigation problem for multiple aerial agents,relying on visual tracking information between vehicles.The research aims to investigate a sensor fusion architecture and algorithm that leverages partially available absolute navigation knowledge while exploiting collaborative visual interaction between vehicles in mission flight areas,where satellite navigation-denied regions are irregularly located.To achieve this,the paper introduces a new approach to defining the relative poses of cameras and develops a corresponding process to secure the relative pose information.This contrasts with previous research,which simply linearized the relative pose information of aircraft cameras into navigation states defined in an absolute coordinate system.Specifically,the target pose in relative navigation is defined,and the pose of the camera and feature points are directly derived using dual quaternion representation,which compactly represents both translation and rotation.Furthermore,a mathematical model for the relative pose of the camera is derived through the dual quaternion framework,enabling an explicit pose formulation of relative navigation.The study investigates navigation performance in typical mission flight scenarios using an in-house high-fidelity simulator and quantitatively highlights the contributions of the proposed scheme by comparing the navigation error performance.Consequently,the proposed method demonstrates to have navigation accuracy in decimeter level even in GNSS-denied environments and an improved 3D Root Mean Square(RMS)error by30%smaller than the conventional absolute navigation framework.

Evaluation of global navigation satellite system spoofing efficacy

The spoofing capability of Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)represents an important confrontational capability for navigation security,and the success of planned missions may depend on the effective evaluation of spoofing capability.However,current evaluation systems face challenges arising from the irrationality of previous weighting methods,inapplicability of the conventional multi-attribute decision-making method and uncertainty existing in evaluation.To solve these difficulties,considering the validity of the obtained results,an evaluation method based on the game aggregated weight model and a joint approach involving the grey relational analysis and technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution(GRA-TOPSIS)are firstly proposed to determine the optimal scheme.Static and dynamic evaluation results under different schemes are then obtained via a fuzzy comprehensive assessment and an improved dynamic game method,to prioritize the deceptive efficacy of the equipment accurately and make pointed improvement for its core performance.The use of judging indicators,including Spearman rank correlation coefficient and so on,combined with obtained evaluation results,demonstrates the superiority of the proposed method and the optimal scheme by the horizontal comparison of different methods and vertical comparison of evaluation results.Finally,the results of field measurements and simulation tests show that the proposed method can better overcome the difficulties of existing methods and realize the effective evaluation.

Optimal maneuver strategy to improve the observability of angles-only rendezvous

This paper proposes an optimal maneuver strategy to improve the observability of angles-only rendezvous from the perspective of relative navigation.A set of dimensionless relative orbital elements(ROEs)is used to parameterize the relative motion,and the objective function of the observability of anglesonly navigation is established.An analytical solution of the optimal maneuver strategy to improve the observability of anglesonly navigation is obtained by means of numerical analysis.A set of dedicated semi-physical simulation system is built to test the performances of the proposed optimal maneuver strategy.Finally,the effectiveness of the method proposed in this paper is verified through the comparative analysis of the objective function of the observability of angles-only navigation and the performances of the angles-only navigation filter under different maneuver schemes.Compared with the cases without orbital maneuver,it is concluded that the tangential filtering accuracy with the optimal orbital maneuver at the terminal time is increased by 35%on average,and the radial and normal filtering accuracy is increased by 30%on average.

Rolling velocity and relative motion of particle detector in local granular flow

The velocity of a particle detector in granular flow can be regarded as the combination of rolling and sliding velocities.The study of the contribution of rolling velocity and sliding velocity provides a new explanation to the relative motion between the detector and the local granular flow.In this study,a spherical detector using embedded inertial navigation technology is placed in the chute granular flow to study the movement of the detector relative to the granular flow.It is shown by particle image velocimetry(PIV)that the velocity of chute granular flow conforms to Silbert’s formula.And the velocity of the detector is greater than that of the granular flow around it.By decomposing the velocity into sliding and rolling velocity,it is indicated that the movement of the detector relative to the granular flow is mainly caused by rolling.The rolling detail shown by DEM simulation leads to two potential mechanisms based on the position and drive of the detector.

Reference satellite selection method for GNSS high-precision relative positioning

Selecting the optimal reference satellite is an important component of high-precision relat/ve positioning because the reference satellite directly influences the strength of the normal equation. The reference satellite selection methods based on elevation and positional dilution of precision （PDOP） value were compared. Results show that all the above methods cannot select the optimal reference satellite. We introduce condition number of the design matrix in the reference satellite selection method to improve structure of the normal equation, because condition number can indicate the ill condition of the normal equation. The experimental results show that the new method can improve positioning accuracy and reliability in precise relative positioning.

Feasibility analysis of angles-only navigation algorithm with multisensor data fusion for spacecraft noncooperative rendezvous

Relative navigation is crucial for spacecraft noncooperative rendezvous,and angles-only navigation using visible and infrared cameras provides a feasible solution.Herein,an angles-only navigation algorithm with multisensor data fusion is proposed to derive the relative motion states between two noncooperative spacecraft.First,the design model of the proposed algorithm is introduced,including the derivation of the state propagation and measurement equations.Subsequently,models for the sensor and actuator are introduced,and the effects of various factors on the sensors and actuators are considered.The square-root unscented Kalman filter is used to design the angles-only navigation filtering scherne.Additionally,the Clohessy-Wiltshire terminal guidance algorithm is introducedto obtain the theoretical relative motion trajectories during the rendezvous operations of two noncooperative spacecraft.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed angles-only navigation algorithm is verified using a semi-physical simulation platform.The results prove that an optical navigation camera combined with average accelerometers and occasional orbital maneuvers is feasible for spacecraft noncooperative rendezvous using angles-only navigation.

Integrated visual navigation based on angles-onlymeasurements for asteroid final landing phase

Visual navigation is imperative for successful asteroid exploration missions.In this study,an integrated visual navigation system was proposed based on angles-only measurements to robustly and accurately determine the pose of the lander during the final landing phase.The system used the lander's global pose information provided by an orbiter,which was deployed in space in advance,and its relative motion information in adjacent images to jointly estimate its optimal state.First,the landmarks on the asteroid surface and markers on the lander were identified from the images acquired by the orbiter.Subsequently,an angles-only measurement model concerning the landmarks and markers was constructed to estimate the orbiter's position and lander's pose.Subsequently,a method based on the epipolar constraint was proposed to estimate the lander's inter-frame motion.Then,the absolute pose and relative motion of the lander were fused using an extended Kalman filter.Additionally,the observability criterion and covariance of the state error were provided.Finally,synthetic image sequences were generated to validate the proposed navigation system,and numerical results demonstrated its advance in terms of robustness and accuracy.