Model Predictive Control in Aerospace Systems: Current State and Opportunities

CONTROLLER design is more troublesome in aerospace systems due to, inter alia, diversity of mission platforms, convoluted nonlinear dynamics, predominantly strict mission and resource constraints, and demands for guaranteed operability within a wide range of operating conditions that can undergo structural or unexpected changes. Most of the space systems (e.g., planetary observers, rovers, space telescopes, spacecraft optical systems, etc.) require studious design, production, and testing processes. Indeed, space systemsare required to endure a wide spectrumof environmental changes with limited resources and are typically subject to partial, highly expensive, or even nonexistent service or repair. Clearly, aerospace missions induce high cost, require long development times as well as long mission lifespan, and demand high-fidelity operation so that, not surprisingly, related control tasks are significantly more demanding in aerospace compared to many other industries.