SPACECRAFT DOCKING SIMULATION USING HARDWARE-IN-THE-LOOP SIMULATOR WITH STEWART PLATFORM

A ground-based hardware-in-the-loop （HIL） simulation system with hydraulically driven Stewart platform for spacecraft docking simulation is presented. The system is used for simulating docking process of the on-orbit spacecraft. Principle and structure of the six-degree-of-freedom simulation system are introduced. The docking process dynamic of the vehicles is modeled. Experiment results and mathematical simulation data are compared to validating the simulation system. The comparisons of the results prove that the simulation system proposed can effectively simulate the on-orbit docking process of the spacecraft.

Spacecraft aerodynamics and trajectory simulation during aerobraking

This paper uses a direct simulation Monte Carlo （DSMC） approach to simulate rarefied aerodynamic characteristics during the aerobraking process of the NASA Mars Global Surveyor （MGS） spacecraft. The research focuses on the flowfield and aerodynamic characteristics distribution under various free stream densities. The vari- ation regularity of aerodynamic coefficients is analyzed. The paper also develops an aerodynamics-aeroheating-trajectory integrative simulation model to preliminarily calculate the aerobraking orbit transfer by combining the DSMC technique and the classical kinematics theory. The results show that the effect of the planetary atmospheric density, the spacecraft yaw, and the pitch attitudes on the spacecraft aerodynamics is significant. The numerical results are in good agreement with the existing results reported in the literature. The aerodynamics-aeroheating-trajectory integrative simulation model can simulate the orbit transfer in the complete aerobraking mission. The current results of the spacecraft trajectory show that the aerobraking maneuvers have good performance of attitude control.

Modeling of disturbance torque in an aerostatic bearings-based nano-satellite simulator

The disturbance torque of aerostatic bearings is in the same order of the reaction wheel, which causes difficulty in evaluation of the designed attitude control strategy of a nano-satellite based on the aerostatic bearing. Two approaches are proposed to model the disturbance torque. Firstly, the gravity induced moment,the vortex torque, and the damping moment are modeled separately. However, the vortex torque and the damping moment are coupled with each other as both of them are caused by the viscosity. In the second approach, the coupling effect is considered. A nano-satellite is constructed based on aerostatic bearing. The time history of the free rotation rate from an initial speed is measured by the gyro, which is further used to calculate the rotation angle and acceleration. The static vortex torque is measured via the removable micro-torque measurement system. Based on these data, the model parameters are identified and modeling errors are presented. Results show that the second model is more precise.The root mean squire error is less than 0.5×10^（-4） N·m and the relative error of the static vortex torque is 0.16%.

A study of PID and L1 adaptive control for automatic balancing of a spacecraft three-axis simulator

Purpose–The three-axis simulator relies on the air film between the air bearing and the bearing seat to achieve weightlessness and the frictionless motion condition,which is essential for simulating the micro-disturbance torque of a satellite in outer space.However,at the beginning of the experiment,the disturbance torque caused by the misalignment between the center of gravity of the simulator and the center of rotation of the bearing is the most important factor restricting the use of the space three-axis simulator.In order to solve this problem,it is necessary to set the balance adjustment system on the simulator to compensate the disturbance torque caused by the eccentricity.The paper aims to discuss these issues.Design/methodology/approach–In this paper,a study of L1 adaptive automatic balancing control method for micro satellite with motor without other actuators is proposed.L1 adaptive control algorithm adds the low-pass filter to the control law,which in a certain sense to reduce the high-frequency signal and speed up the response time of the controlled system.At the same time,by estimating the adaptive parameter uncertainty in object,the output error of the state predictor and the controlled object can be stabilized under Lyapunov condition,and the robustness of the system is also improved.The automatic balancing method of PID is also studied in this paper.Findings–Through this automatic balancing mechanism,the gravity disturbance torque can be effectively reduced down to 10−6 Nm,and the automatic balancing time can be controlled within 7 s.Originality/value–This paper introduces an automatic balancing mechanism.The experimental results show that the mechanism can greatly improve the convergence speed while guaranteeing the control accuracy,and ensuring the feasibility of the large angle maneuver of spacecraft three-axis simulator.