Automated Rendezvous and Docking of Spacecraft
This definitive reference for space engineers provides an overview of the major issues governing approach and mating strategies, and system concepts for rendezvous & docking/berthing (RVD/B).
TABLE OF CONTENTS Automated Rendezvous and Docking of Spacecraft
Chapter 6: The Onboard Rendezvous Control System
The intention of this chapter is to provide the reader with a short overview of the typical tasks, functions and system hierarchy of an automatic onboard control system for a rendezvous and docking mission. It should provide a basic understanding of the concepts used for various functions, without entering into the details of actual designs. The functions required for automatic control of the vehicle's state vector, for automatic sequencing of manoeuvres and control modes and for automatic detection of failures and initiation of recovery actions are discussed. In section 6.5, the interaction of human operators with an automatic control system and the replacement of some of its functions by human operators is briefly addressed.
6.1 Tasks and functions
Figure 6.1: Hierarchy of control system for RVD.
During the rendezvous and docking process, the automatic onboard system has to fulfil the following tasks:
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preparation and execution of manoeuvres and continuous control of trajectory and attitude (guidance, navigation and control = GNC);
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sequencing of phases, GNC modes or manoeuvres, and scheduling of equipment for such modes (mission and vehicle management = MVM);
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detection and recovery from system and equipment failures and from critical state vector deviations (failure detection, isolation and recovery = FDIR);
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data exchange concerning the rendezvous process and the onboard control system with the ground control centre and the target space station.
There are obviously a number of other functions that the onboard system has to fulfil, such as power, thermal control and housekeeping functions. These functions, however, are not...
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