Geometric Control Methods for On-Orbit Assembly of Modular Spacecraft Cluster

In this paper, a cluster geometry control method is proposed for the problem of on-orbit assembly of modular spacecraft clusters. The method bases the cluster system on a manifold. A collision avoidance constraint that does not generate terminal position mutual exclusion is designed for the characteristics of the assembly problem. Assembly and task time constraints are further considered to integrate the non-convex multiple constraints with the system metric matrix. Finally, model predictive control is used to realize tracking control. Simulation results show that the method can arrive at the target position to complete the on-orbit assembly within any initial position and different fixed time constraints and achieve the purpose of energy optimization.