Testbed for satellite formation flying under ground conditions

Abstract

This paper presents a formation flying testbed for ground based testing of satellite formation control. The aim is to provide a cost effective and upgradeable testbed for testing control technologies needed for smooth operation of satellite formation flying missions. Two approaches are presented to hardware testing: (1) mechanical satellite frames for testing sensors, actuators and communications (2) autonomy and robust control testing using a hardware in the loop system. Design and hardware implementation of the testbed are presented with mathematical models of system dynamics and control.