Fuel Optimal Maneuver of Passive and Periodic Satellite Formation: Linear Programming Approach

Along with the rapid development of small satellite technology, satellite formation flying is increasingly active. In this paper, the relative motion dynamics are described by the orbital element differences. Optimization problem restrained by relative motion differential equations are transformed into linear programming problem constrained by algebra through approximate discretization method. This paper primarily presents the fuel-optimal maneuver control algorithm for the satellite formation Based on linear programming trajectory planning problem. Using MATLAB numerical simulation, the control law is applied to maneuver control of the natural periodic formation for the satellite under the perturbation. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.