Article: Results of PRISMA/FFIORD extended mission and applicability to future formation flying and active debris removal missions Journal: International Journal of Space Science and Engineering (IJSPACESE) 2013 Vol.1 No.4 pp.382 - 409 Abstract: CNES performed several experiments during the extended PRISMA mission which started in August 2011. A first session in October 2011 addressed two objectives: 1) demonstrate angles-only navigation to rendezvous with a non-cooperative object; 2) exercise transitions between RF-based and vision-based control during final formation acquisition. A complementary experiment in September 2012 mimicked some future astrometry mission and implemented the manoeuvres required to point the two satellite axis to a celestial target and maintain it fixed during some observation period. In the first sections, the paper presents the experiment motivations, describes its main design features including the guidance and control algorithms evolutions and provides a synthesis of the most significant results along with a discussion of the lessons learned. In the last part, the paper evokes the applicability of these experiment results to some active debris removal mission concept that is currently being studied. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Results of PRISMA/FFIORD extended mission and applicability to future formation flying and active debris removal missions

Authors: Michel Delpech; Jean-Claude Berges; Thomas Karlsson; Fabien Malbet

Addresses: Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), 18 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France ' Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), 18 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France ' OHB-Sweden AB, P.O. Box 1064, SE-171 22 Solna, Sweden ' Planetology and Astrophysics Institute of Grenoble, 414, rue de la Piscine, 38400 St-Martin d'Hères, France

Abstract: CNES performed several experiments during the extended PRISMA mission which started in August 2011. A first session in October 2011 addressed two objectives: 1) demonstrate angles-only navigation to rendezvous with a non-cooperative object; 2) exercise transitions between RF-based and vision-based control during final formation acquisition. A complementary experiment in September 2012 mimicked some future astrometry mission and implemented the manoeuvres required to point the two satellite axis to a celestial target and maintain it fixed during some observation period. In the first sections, the paper presents the experiment motivations, describes its main design features including the guidance and control algorithms evolutions and provides a synthesis of the most significant results along with a discussion of the lessons learned. In the last part, the paper evokes the applicability of these experiment results to some active debris removal mission concept that is currently being studied.

Keywords: PRISMA mission; formation flying; flight results; vision based navigation; orbital debris removal; satellites; guidance and control algorithms; spacecraft.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSPACESE.2013.059272

International Journal of Space Science and Engineering, 2013 Vol.1 No.4, pp.382 - 409

Received: 21 Sep 2013
Accepted: 01 Nov 2013
Published online: 30 Apr 2014 *

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Title: Results of PRISMA/FFIORD extended mission and applicability to future formation flying and active debris removal missions

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