Near-Minimum-Time Maneuvers of Large Structures: Theory and Experiments

This paper describes the design and implementation of near-minimum-time control laws for the Advance Space Structures Technology Research Experiments test article located at the Phillips Laboratory, Edwards Air Force Base. The test article is equipped with compressed air thrusters that can be throttled. The mathematical model of the rotational motion is obtained by using experimental data and includes effects such as thruster dynamics, fuel constraints, leakage, and multibody interactions. Both open-loop and feedback strategies are developed and verified experimentally. The open-loop thruster profiles are generated using constrained parameter optimization. The feedback control profiles are generated using Lyapunov stability theory, for both final position regulation and tracking of the open-loop commands. The results show excellent agreement between theory and experiment.