Control of orientation for spacecraft formations near the sun-earth L2 libration point

Formation flying in the vicinity of the libration points is an important concept for space exploration and demands reliable and accurate technique for the control of the spacecraft. On the basis of previous work, this paper addresses the problem of relative orientation control of spacecraft formation flying utilizing the framework of the circular restricted three-body problem (CR3BP) with the Sun and Earth as the primary gravitational bodies. The tangent targeting method (TTM), an efficient two-level differential correction algorithm, is exploited to control the Chief/Deputy architecture to maintain a prespecified orientation. The time spent within the orientation error corridor between successive maneuvers is maximized. Then, the practical convergence and maneuver velocity are discussed. Copyright