Trajectory Planning for Spacecraft Far-field Rendezvous via Convex Optimization

Safe rendezvous operations of spacecraft require the capability to generate highly constrained trajectories timely. For far-field rendezvous operation, the trajectory planning of the spacecraft is a complex problem due to factors such as arbitrary orbits and the unignorable mass changes caused by fuel consumption. A trajectory planning method is proposed in this paper which considering low engine thrust and representative constraints such as approach corridors, relative speeds, etc. Utilizing various convexification techniques, a corresponding relaxed version of the original problem is formulated. Next, an innovative iterative solution methodology is introduced for addressing the relaxed problem. After discretization, the original nonlinear problem is restructured into a sequence of second-order cone programming problems, whose solutions can be obtained through convex optimization algorithms. Simulation experiments have provided evidence that this approach is effective, confirming its reliability and potential for practical application.