This R&D study, carried out in collaboration with ESA, focused on high-fidelity modeling of a robotic arm manipulation scenario, as part of an in-orbit service mission.
SDTlib was used to model the service satellite and the customer, each with their own properties of mass, inertia, flexible modes, etc., and then the complete system after docking. For example, the following figure shows the evolution of moments of inertia during the mission.
Frequency behavior can also be analyzed as a function of time, as shown in the following figure.
It is important to note that this model, obtained with SDTlib, is parameterized with the uncertainties but also the positions of the arm links. It is therefore a continuous representation of all possible geometric configurations, which could be used to automatically optimize, with Matlab’s robust control toolbox , a controller that takes into account changes in inertia and flexible modes during proximity operations.
Rodrigues, R., Preda, V., Sanfedino, F., & Alazard, D. (2022). Modeling, robust control synthesis and worst-case analysis for an on-orbit servicing mission with large flexible spacecraft. Aerospace Science and Technology, 107865.
