Analysis of time shift governors for efficient spacecraft rendezvous in elliptic orbits, suggesting improved controls.
No AccessTechnical NotesConstrained Spacecraft Rendezvous on Elliptic Orbits Using Time Shift GovernorsTaehyeun Kim, Anouck Girard and Ilya KolmanovskyTaehyeun Kim https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4630-695XUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2140, Anouck GirardUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2140 and Ilya KolmanovskyUniversity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2140Published Online:26 Sep 2025https://doi.org/10.2514/1.G009122SectionsRead Now ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationTrack citations ShareShare onFacebookXLinked InRedditEmail About References [1] Cavrois B., Reynaud S., Personne G., Chavy S. and Strandmoe S., "ATV GNC and Safety Functions Synthesis: Overall Design, Main Performances and Operations," AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference and Exhibit, AIAA Paper 2008-7481, 2008. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2008-7481 LinkGoogle Scholar[2] Ryan S., "The Difficulties with Replacing Crew Launch Abort Systems with Designed Reliability," Journal of System Safety, Vol. 58, No. 1, 2023, pp. 19–24. https://doi.org/10.56094/jss.v58i1.216 CrossrefGoogle Scholar[3] Chouinard C., Knight R., Jones G., Tran D. and Koblick D., "Automated and Adaptive Mission Planning for Orbital Express," SpaceOps 2008 Conference, AIAA Paper 2008-3383, 2008. https://doi.org/10.2514/6.2008-3383 LinkGoogle Scholar[4] Weiss A., Baldwin M., Erwin R. 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Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. with permission. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission. All requests for copying and permission to reprint should be submitted to CCC at www.copyright.com; employ the eISSN 1533-3884 to initiate your request. See also AIAA Rights and Permissions https://aiaa.org/publications/publish-with-aiaa/rights-and-permissions/. TopicsAerospace SciencesAstrodynamicsAstronauticsControl TheoryGuidance, Navigation, and Control SystemsOrbital ManeuversSpace OrbitSpace RendezvousSpacecraft Guidance and Control KeywordsSpacecraft RendezvousOrbital ManeuversModel Predictive ControlSpacecraft Guidance and ControlConstrained ControlPredictive ControlTime Shift GovernorAcknowledgmentThis research is supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research under grant number FA9550-23-1-0678.Digital Received13 February 2025Accepted12 July 2025Published online26 September 2025
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