Patent ID: 9115662
Filing Date: 2015-08-25
Classification: B63G,B63H,B64G,F02D,G06F,Y02T

Abstract:
1. A method for managing a plurality of thrusters in a platform, the method comprising: operating a combination of thrusters from the plurality of thrusters in the platform with a thruster control system, wherein one or more thrusters from the plurality of thrusters are operable independently from remaining ones of the one or more thrusters, and wherein operating comprises independently operating the combination of thrusters from other thrusters in the plurality of thrusters; estimating, by a processor control unit, a vehicle response resulting from the operation of the plurality of thrusters to form an estimated vehicle response; comparing, by the processor control unit, the estimated vehicle response to a desired vehicle response to develop objective function errors; selecting, by the processor control unit, one of an estimated influence matrix or a predicted influence matrix, wherein the estimated influence matrix is generated using vehicle state information and previous valve command outputs, and wherein the predicted influence matrix is generated from in-flight estimates of thruster characteristics of the platform; developing, by the processor control unit, a number of commands configured to correct the objective function errors based on one of the estimated influence matrix or the predicted influence matrix; and operating the plurality of thrusters with the thruster control system using the number of commands.