Abstract In the framework of on-orbit proximity operations, small satellites represent an appealing solution in terms of costs, effectiveness and realization, but show intrinsic power, mass and computation limitations that could be overcome if cooperation among many spacecraft is considered. In this research, a swarm of small satellites (called “Children S/C″), deployed from a larger platform (called “Mother S/C″), is employed in the inspection of a damaged spacecraft, which cannot be directly approached by the Mother S/C for safety reasons. The navigation process is delegated to the Mother S/C, that is equipped with a passive camera. A navigation algorithm runs on the Mother S/C, which identifies and tracks the Children S/C framed in the scene, even though false matches (i.e., incorrect tracking of a given child) could happen. The navigation algorithm is made robust through the generation at each time step of a propagated virtual image (based on the previous estimate of the swarm state) which is compared to the acquired image for the correct identification of each child. When the relative position estimates reach a satisfactory accuracy, the Mother S/C communicates to the Children S/C their current state and an optimal impulsive control strategy can be implemented to make the swarm fulfill the required inspection task. Simulations are carried out in a purposely developed software environment, in which images of rendered CAD models are acquired and processed to have a realistic validation of the estimation algorithm, showing satisfactory performance and robustness for the overall mission accomplishment.

中文翻译：

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用于在轨服务的大量卫星的集中视觉导航和控制

摘要 在在轨邻近操作的框架内，小型卫星在成本、有效性和实现方面代表了一种有吸引力的解决方案，但如果考虑到许多航天器之间的合作，就可以克服其固有的功率、质量和计算限制。在这项研究中，从更大的平台（称为“母亲 S/C”）部署的一群小型卫星（称为“儿童 S/C”）用于检查损坏的航天器，该航天器无法直接接近出于安全原因，Mother S/C。导航过程委托给配备无源摄像头的 Mother S/C。导航算法在 Mother S/C 上运行，它识别并跟踪场景中的 Children S/C，即使可能发生错误匹配（即，对给定孩子的错误跟踪）。通过在每个时间步长生成传播的虚拟图像（基于对群状态的先前估计），将其与获取的图像进行比较以正确识别每个孩子，从而使导航算法变得稳健。当相对位置估计达到令人满意的精度时，Mother S/C 将它们的当前状态传达给 Children S/C，并且可以实施最佳脉冲控制策略，使群完成所需的检查任务。模拟是在专门开发的软件环境中进行的，其中获取并处理渲染 CAD 模型的图像，以对估计算法进行真实验证，显示出令人满意的性能和整体任务完成的稳健性。