On-orbit Fuel-Optimized Safety in Autonomous Rendezvous

1
On-orbit Fuel-Optimized Safety in Autonomous
Rendezvous
Louis Breger, Matt Jeffrey, and Jonathan How

• Objective Find trajectories for autonomous
  rendezvous and docking (ARD) that
• Approach Convex optimization using linearized
  dynamics for fuel minimization and constraint
  satisfaction
• ? allows constraints on docking speed, approach
  trajectory, and failure behavior

• Are tolerant of guidance system failure

Safe Trajectory
IC
Failure
w/o safety 1.29 mm/s w/ safety 1.41 mm/s
2
Safe Rendezvous ISS Experiments

• Demonstrated SPHERES satellites following safe
  trajectory to stationary target,
  rotating/tumbling target (this past spring!)
• Created experiment by introducing random
  failure time, demonstrated safe trajectory was
  actually safe
• Lessons learned
• Plan for robustness conservatively
• Minimize requirements on ICs
• Smarter experiments ? faster run time
• Event-based sequencing
• Future plans
• Demonstrate Active Safety on ISSin complex
  obstacle environment