Patent ID: 6208915
Filing Date: 2001-03-27
Classification: B64G

Abstract:
A method for the on the whole minimum-fuel, computer-assisted control of an optionally determined number of thrusters, arranged as desired on a spacecraft, whereina minimum-fuel control vector (k.sub.opt) with exclusively non-negative control values for all specified thrusters is formed with the aid of the dual simplex algorithm;for this, a thruster selection identification number (I) is assigned to each thruster selection from the total number of thrusters on the spacecraft, which represents the optimum thruster selection for the minimum-fuel realization of an optional command vector (b.sub.com);for the determination of the optimum control, the command vector ((b.sub.com), which includes the force and/or moment components to be exerted, is initially transformed to a start vector (b=b.sub.start) through multiplication with a transformation matrix ((B.sub.start).sup.-1);subsequently the dual simplex algorithm is executed until the vector for the control values (b) contains only non-negative control values or until the non-existence of a solution has been indicated;in the process, the dual simplex algorithm is realized in that all data necessary for processing the dual simplex algorithm, which can be computed off-line (ahead of time), are first determined, are stored in data fields in the computer memory and are called up with suitable addresses from the computer memory to be used for computing with the simplex algorithm during the on-line operation, wherein only a reduced simplex table is used, in which only the thruster selection identification number and the associated vector for the control values (b) are listed.