Kinematics Control of Electromagnetic Formation Flight Using Angular-Momentum Conservation Constraint

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel control scheme for electromagnetic formation flight that manages electromagnetic force and torque simultaneously, preventing reaction wheel saturation and maintaining satellite formation efficiently.

Contribution

A new controller based on angular momentum conservation is proposed, enabling control of multiple satellites with a single reaction wheel set and preventing saturation.

Findings

Controller effectively manages electromagnetic force and torque.

System maintains formation without reaction wheel saturation.

Numerical simulations confirm system stability and reconfiguration capability.

Abstract

Electromagnetic formation flight (EMFF) uses the electromagnetic force to control the relative positions of multiple satellites without using conventional fuel-based propulsion. To compensate for the electromagnetic torque generated alongside the electromagnetic force, in most previous studies, all satellites were assumed to have reaction wheels (RWs) besides electromagnetic coils. However, the RW-loaded angular momentum becomes non-uniformly distributed among the satellites, because the electromagnetic torque usually differs between satellites. Without a proper control scheme, this deviation increases over time, and the RWs become saturated quickly, preventing the attitudes of the satellites from being controlled. In this study, a new controller is proposed that enables the electromagnetic force and torque to be controlled simultaneously. The EMFF kinematics derived from the conservation of angular momentum are used for the controller design. This controller can control $n$ satellites without saturating the RWs, and only one set of RWs is required among all satellites. The combination of the proposed controller with a simple unloading control exclusive to the chief satellite results in the elimination of the accumulation of angular momentum in the entire system. The effectiveness of the proposed controller is demonstrated through numerical simulations of the formation maintenance and formation reconfiguration of a five-satellite system.