Dynamic/control interactions between flexible orbiting space-robot during grasping, docking and post-docking manoeuvres

Robotic systems are expected to play an increasingly important role in future space activities, such as repairing, upgrading, refuelling, and re-orbiting spacecraft. These technologies could potentially extend the life of satellites, enhance the capability of space systems, reduce the operation costs, and clean up the increasing space debris. Recent proposals for missions involving the use of space manipulators and/or automated transfer vehicles are presented as a solution for a lot of problems, which now affect the procedures and the performance of the in-orbit space systems. Other projects involving space manipulators have been developed by DARPA aiming to demonstrate several satellite servicing operations and technologies including rendez-vous, proximity operations and station-keeping, capture, docking, fluid transfer (specifically,‘hydrazine’), and Orbit Replaceable Unit (ORU) transfer. Of course the dynamic coupling between the manipulator and its base mounting flexible solar arrays is very difficult to model. Furthermore, the motion planning of space robots is usually much more complicated than the motion planning of fixed-base manipulators. In this paper first of all the authors present a mixed NE/EL formulation suitable for synthesizing optimal control strategies during the deploying manoeuvres of robotic arms mounted on flexible orbiting platform (i.e. the chaser). Then two new control strategies able to compensate the flexibility excitations of the chaser satellite solar panels during the capturing of a flexible target spacecraft with the use of two robotic arms are presented and applied to a grasping manoeuvre. The mission is here divided into three main phases: the approaching, the docking and the post-grasping phase. Several numerical examples will complete the work.