LIDAR adaptive parameters selection and target pointing control for close-proximity space operations

• Innovative solution for navigation and control for close-proximity operations. • Adaptive selection of LIDAR parameters relative navigation performance enhancement. • Original sliding mode control for accurate LIDAR-to-target pointing. • Comparison of SMC against state-of-the-art attitude control strategies. • Closed-loop performance assessment of relative navigation and attitude control. This paper deals with advanced Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) functions required to enable autonomous and safe operations of a chaser spacecraft in close-proximity to an uncooperative space target, as in Active Debris Removal or On-Orbit servicing scenarios. Specifically, it presents an original approach to autonomously and adaptively select the field of view and resolution of a scanning LIDAR to improve both state estimation accuracy and computational efficiency of a LIDAR-based relative navigation system. In general, the correct operation of such system is also determined by the capability to keep the boresight axis of the relative navigation sensor aligned with the target geometric center. To address this task, an original control technique, based on the sliding-mode formulation and relying on a reduced attitude representation, is proposed. This control scheme is also compared to state-of-the-art PD and PID approaches in terms of pointing accuracy and control effort. The proposed techniques have been numerically validated in a simulation environment integrating the chaser attitude control and the LIDAR-based relative navigation functions in a closed-loop architecture. The simulation environment realistically reproduces the generation of LIDAR-based point clouds, and the spacecraft relative dynamics in close proximity. Results show that the adaptive selection of the LIDAR operational parameters improves the relative navigation performance, while the proposed sliding-mode control guarantees higher pointing accuracy than PD and PID control approaches.