Spacecraft Constrained Maneuver Planning for Moving Debris Avoidance Using Positively Invariant Constraint Admissible Sets

Abstract — This paper extends our prior work on spacecraft debris avoidance based on positively invariant sets to the case of moving debris. In this approach, a time-varying connectivity graph is constructed between a set of forced equilibria, forming a virtual net that is centered around a nominal orbital position of the spacecraft. The connectivity between two equilibria is determined based on contractive sets in order to guarantee that collision-free transitions between equilibria can be effected within a giving time period. A graph search algorithm is imple-mented to find the shortest path around the debris, or through the debris ’ path once it has moved on. Simulation results are presented that illustrate this approach. I