Navigation and Control of the PRISMA Formation: In-Orbit Experience

This paper presents flight results and lessons learned from the Spaceborne Autonomous Formation Flying Experiment (SAFE) conducted by the German Space Operations Center in the frame of the Swedish PRISMA mission. SAFE represents one of the first demonstrations in low Earth orbit of an advanced guidance, navigation and control system for dual-spacecraft formations. Innovative techniques based on carrier-phase differential GPS, relative eccentricity/inclination vectors and impulsive maneuvering are validated and tuned in orbit to achieve centimeter accurate real-time relative navigation, reliable formation keeping at the meter level and flexible formation reconfiguration capabilities