AAS XX-XXX

ITERATIVE MODEL REFINEMENT FOR ORBITAL TRAJECTORY OPTIMIZATION

Jennifer Hudson and Ilya Kolmanovsky
An iterative trajectory optimization method is developed for optimal control of a low-thrust spacecraft. A high-delity model and a low-delity model are used to iteratively rene solutions. The high-delity model accurately represents the system but has high computational complexity, such that numerical optimization is prohibitively time-consuming. The low-delity model can be used for numerical optimization, but approximates the system dynamics with an unknown error. The iterative model renement method systematically reduces the difference between the two models and converges on a solution with efcient execution time.

INTRODUCTION An iterative optimization method is developed for a system represented by two models: a highdelity model and a low-delity model. The high-delity model accurately represents the system but has high computational complexity, such that iterative simulations necessary to compute the optimal control are prohibitively time-consuming. The low-delity model approximates the behavior of the system with a small but unknown error, and can be evaluated at a much faster rate. The iterative model renement method is applied to the problem of optimal control of a low-thrust spacecraft about the L4 Lagrange point in the Earth-Moon system. The objective is to optimally control the spacecraft from a perturbed initial state to the L4 point. Several cases with different boundary conditions and constraints will be analyzed. In addition to demonstrating and validating the iterative model renement method on the orbital control problem, this paper will analyze the convergence properties of the method. Conditions on the system models and on the control to ensure convergence will be discussed. METHODS The method assumes a system described by two models: a high-delity model, = f (x(t), u(t)), x where x is the state, u is the manipulated input; and a low-delity model, = Ax(t) + Bu(t) + d(t), x where d represents unmeasured disturbances.

(1)

(2)

Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, 1320 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2140. Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Michigan, 1320 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2140.

The iterative model renement algorithm is shown in Table 1. First, d0 (t) is set to zero and a numerical optimizer is used to calculate the optimal control, u0 (t), of the low-delity model. This results in the trajectory xl 0 (t). Next, the high-delity model is simulated with the control u0 (t), resulting in the trajectory xh 0 (t). l h Finally, x0 (t) and x0 (t) are used to determine the disturbance d1 (t) that minimizes the difference between the low-delity model and the high-delity model under u0 (t). These disturbances are then used in the next iteration. Each iteration of this algorithm requires many evaluations of the low-delity model but only one evaluation of the high-delity model.
Table 1. IMR Algorithm 1. 2. 3. 4. Optimize low delity model, nd optimal control u(t) Simulate high delity model with u(t) (and possibly with excitation added), nd trajectory xh (t) Compare xh (t) to low delity model output, estimate disturbance d(t) Repeat

ORBITAL TRAJECTORY OPTIMIZATION PROBLEM The iterative model renement approach will be demonstrated on the problem of optimally controlling a spacecraft near the L4 Lagrange point. The nonlinear equations of the planar circular restricted three-body model are the high-delity model of the system,
2 x 20 y 0 x = 2 y + 20 x 0 y =

1 (x D1 ) 2 (x + D2 ) + x + ax 3 3 r1 r2 1 y 2 y 3 r 3 + y + ay , r1 2

(3) (4)

where the coordinate frame is rotating with constant velocity 0 about the center of mass of the Earth-Moon system, D1 is the distance of the Earth from the center along the positive x axis, D2 is the distance of the Moon from the center along the negative x axis, and 1 and 2 are the constant gravity parameters of the Earth and Moon respectively. The perturbations x and y are added to represent unkown system behavior, such as control disturbances, solar radiation pressure perturbations, and gravitational perturbations. The linearized restricted 3-body orbital dynamics for perturbations from L4 are the low-delity model of the system,
2 x 20 y c1 0 x = ax

(5) (6)

y + 2 0 x

2 c2 0 y

= ay ,

where the Cartesian coordinate components x and y describe the perturbation of the position vector from the Lagrange point. Comparing the two models, the high-delity model alone is more difcult and computationally expensive to optimize due to its nonlinear structure. The low-delity model is easily optimized, but the solution does not solve the high-delity optimal control problem, as the linear model does not fully capture the nonlinear system dynamics. The iterative approach using both models converges on a solution to the nonlinear problem with computational efciency.

Figures 1 - 5 show an example of the iterative method. The objective is to control the spacecraft from a perturbed initial state to the L4 point within a ve hour timespan. The initial state perturbation from L4 is x 100km y 100km = . (7) x 10km/s y 10km/s The perturbations are x = 0.0016km/s2 and y = 5.6861e 005km/s2 . Figures 1 and 2 show the trajectories calculated by the high-delity model with the optimal control found by the low-delity model after each iteration. Figures 3 and 4 show the two elements of the optimal control vector found in each iteration. All plot dimensions are normalized by the Earths radius RE and a time constant
3 RE 1 .

Figure 5 shows the cost,

tf

J=
0

xT Qx + uT Ru,

(8)

calculated by each iteration of the high-delity model, where Q = I4 and R = I2 . This example shows convergence to a minimum cost after a small number of iterations.

Figure 1. Trajectories in Rotating Frame

CONCLUSIONS The iterative model renement method offers an efcient, robust approach for trajectory optimization. It is applicable to many problems in spaceight mechanics, including low-thrust spacecraft trajectory design. Future space missions will involve complex trajectories with many constraints. Appropriate and efcient use of models of varying delity will be useful in many mission design scenarios.

Figure 2. Trajectories in Inertial Frame

Figure 3. Optimal Control u(1)

Figure 4. Optimal Control u(2)

Figure 5. Cost