Efficient Stabilization of Hybrid Coulomb Spacecraft Formations using Control Lyapunov Functions

TL;DR

This paper introduces a control allocation algorithm for hybrid Coulomb spacecraft formations that effectively stabilizes configurations while significantly reducing propellant use by balancing Coulomb and thruster actuation.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel control Lyapunov function-based algorithm that optimally allocates control efforts between Coulomb forces and thrusters in HCSFs.

Findings

Achieves up to 85% propellant reduction compared to thruster-only control.

Demonstrates Coulomb forces can handle most stabilization tasks, with thrusters providing minor corrections.

Validates the approach through simulations showing effective stabilization with minimal propellant use.

Abstract

A control allocation algorithm using control Lyapunov functions to determine stabilizing charges and thrusts of hybrid Coulomb spacecraft formations (HCSFs) is presented. The goal is to stabilize a desired configuration while minimizing the thruster actuation and maximizing Coulomb actuation to minimize propellant usage. A proportion of the decrease of the control Lyapunov function is designated for Coulomb actuation and the rest is performed by thrusters. Simulations show that an 85% reduction of propellant compared to using solely thrusters is attainable using the proposed algorithm. It is shown that the best role for thrusters in a HCSF is to provide small corrections that cannot be provided by Coulomb actuation.