Investigation of ADCS Components and Algorithms for CubeSat Based On-Orbit Assembly

在轨组装将是使太空旅行和商业化更加可行的下一个前沿。通过在太空中执行制造和组装任务，可以创建由于体积和尺寸限制而不适合发射的大型结构。这可以使先进的轨道结构，如更大的望远镜和太阳能电池阵列，并能够提高使用较小的资源密集型发射任务的操作能力[1]。虽然在文献中已经检查了组件的各个部件的动力学，并且各种代理商目前正在开发模块化航天器系统，这些系统可以连接在一起以形成更大的结构，但是缺乏对用于执行外部制造结构的在轨组装的合适平台的研究。为了执行这项任务并保持在轨组装的降低的成本效益，该项目将研究和开发一个标准化平台，用于执行装配任务。具体地说，本项目将研究姿态确定和控制系统（ADCS）的组成部分和算法，以创建一个在轨组装飞行器。这将受到标准化的10cm × 10cm立方体卫星格式的限制，由于其在节省发射体积方面的便利性，这种格式最近越来越受欢迎[2]。这种格式对完成这些任务可用的体积、功率和计算资源提出了限制，提出的方法是评估和比较可能的在轨组装控制算法，并评估当前CubeSat硬件支持这些算法的能力。在此之后，CubeSat硬件可以进行修改和开发，为在轨组装提供最佳平台。使用所选择的控制体系结构来轨道组件。这将最终在一个完整的原型使用快速原型和实验能力的空间研究小组，允许设计的硬件和控制器进行验证。这项工作将配合其他领域的研究小组允许与其他研究人员合作，并在项目过程中发布累积的发现。研究的最终成果是与专注于机械手在轨控制的研究人员进行潜在的合作，当与CubeSat设计相结合时，为未来的任务提供了一个完整的装配平台。

On-orbit assembly will be the next frontier in making space travel and commercialisation morefeasible. By performing manufacturing and assembly tasks in space, large scale structures can becreated which are unsuitable for launch due to volume and dimension limitations. This can enableadvanced orbital structures such as larger telescopes and solar arrays, and the ability to increase theoperational capability of missions using smaller less resource intensive launches [1]. While thedynamics of the individual components of the assembly have been examined in literature andvarious agents are currently developing modular spacecraft systems which may interface together toform a larger structure, there is a lack of research into suitable platforms for performing on-orbitassembly of externally manufactured structures.To perform this task and maintain the reduced cost benefits of on-orbit assembly, this project willinvestigate and develop a standardised platform for performing assembly tasks. Specifically, thisproject will investigate the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) components andalgorithms necessary to create an on-orbit assembly vehicle. This will be constrained by thestandardised 10cm by 10cm CubeSat format which has been growing in popularity recently due to itsconvenience in saving launch volume [2]. This format presents limits on the volume, power, andcomputational resources available to complete these tasks, and will therefore be a point of interestduring research.The proposed methodology is to evaluate and compare possible control algorithms for on-orbitassembly and assess the capabilities of the current CubeSat hardware to support these algorithms.Following this the CubeSat hardware can be revised and developed to provide an optimal platformfor on-orbit assembly using the chosen control architecture. This will culminate in a full prototypeusing the rapid prototyping and experimentation capabilities of the Space Research Group, allowingthe designed hardware and controller to be verified.This work will tie in with other areas of research within the group allowing collaboration with otherresearchers, and release of cumulative findings over the course of the project. The final output ofthe research is a potential collaboration with researchers focused on on-orbit control ofmanipulators, which when combined with the CubeSat design provides a full assembly platform for future missions.