Vision-Based Attitude Determination Using A SLAM Algorithm During Relative Circumnavigation Of Non-cooperative Objects
Abstract
We approach the problem of a chaser satellite circumnavigating a target object in a
relative orbit. The objective is to obtain a map of the scenario and to measure the reciprocal
position of the chaser-target pair, in order to subsequently perform proximity operations
(active debris removal, rendezvous, servicing, etc.) more reliably. This work analyzes the case
of a target-chaser scenario in a closed Clohessy-Wiltshire relative orbit. The chaser satellite has
a vision sensor and observes a set of landmarks on the target satellite: the control acts on the
yaw-rotation of the detector. By de ning a probability distribution over a set of feasible control
trajectories, we perform a search for a near-optimal solution. At the core of this approach
lies the cross entropy minimization technique for estimating rare-event probabilities, which
iteratively approximates the sampling distribution towards regions of progressively lower cost
until converging to the optimum. We present simulations of a tracking scenario, demonstrating
the validity of the proposed control technique. Performance of the proposed policy is compared
with the case of a non controlled sensor by evaluating the time spent under observation and the
residual uncertainty bounds on the landmarks. Results con rm the validity of the proposed
approach.