Assessing control robustness of CubeSat propulsion systems for minor body proximity operations

Exploration of minor celestial bodies is attracting increasing attention due to the scientific insights and engineering advancements it can provide. Concurrently, miniaturized platforms such as CubeSats are becoming increasingly popular because of their reduced development, qualification, and launch costs. This enables riskier operations, making them ideal for proximity operations around minor bodies. This work introduces a 6-DoF guidance and control simulation framework for proximity operations along hyperbolic trajectories near minor bodies. An optimization algorithm was designed coupling attitude dynamics with trajectory design, while directly considering performance and technological limitations of CubeSat propulsion systems. This is to evaluate the feasibility of using miniaturized propulsion systems in a minor body environment. The analysis examines various propulsion technologies, orbital distances, and minor bodies to assess the feasibility of flying hyperbolic arcs. Key performance metrics, including observation time, firing time, propellant consumption, and pointing accuracy, are considered. • Exploring minor bodies with CubeSats requires robust guidance and control. • Modeling the coupling of attitude dynamics with trajectory design during optimization. • The optimization was tested with 4 propulsion systems, 10 distances, and 3 bodies.