MS thesis abstract - Saenz-Otero, Alvar

Author:	Saenz-Otero, Alvar
Degree:	Masters of Science
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File type:	PDF, 1998 kB
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The SPHERES Satellite Formation Flight Testbed: Design and Initial Control

New space missions, under development at NASA and the Air Force, utilize Formation Flight technologies to take advantage of the improved angular resolution of separated spacecraft interferometers and distributed arrays. The SPHERES Satellite Formation Flight Testbed provides these programs with a low-risk, low-cost environment to model, develop, debug, and optimize the control, metrology, and autonomy algorithms required for these missions. The SPHERES testbed consists of three independent re-programmable units that contain propulsion, communications, power, metrology, and software systems. A laptop computer works as the ground station to send high-level commands to the units and stores telemetry data from the units. Tests on one-g laboratory facilities and on NASA's KC-135 reduced gravity airplane have demonstrated the use of SPHERES to study and develop Formation Flight algorithms.