On the Orbital Pursuit-Evasion Games with Low Constant Thrust-to-Mass Ratio

Much research has been done on the topic of pursuit-evasion games, which are of interest in diverse fields. Orbital pursuit-evasion game is more complex to some extent compared with other kinds of pursuit-evasion game due to the unique orbital dynamics and environment. Assuming a low constant thrust-to-mass ratio and that the thrust pointing direction is the only control option, this paper presents an efficient orbital pursuit-evasion model based on the relative state differential equations in LVLH (Local Vertical, Local Horizontal) coordinate system and a method to calculate the saddle equilibrium solution. Moreover, by analyzing the orbital pursuit-evasion model about the terminal condition and behavior learning framework, this paper reaches two useful and efficient conclusions, showing that the maneuver capability of the pursue spacecraft should be better than the evader spacecraft, or the role of each other will be exchanged, and the saddle equilibrium solution can't guarantee an optimal strategy in an imperfect information situation, and the behavior learning framework is an efficient way to handle that.