Plume avoidance maneuver planning using mixed integer linear programming

This paper extends a recently-developed path planning method to account for plume impingement, which is a key concern for on-orbit rendezvous and formation flying spacecraft. The approach designs fuel-optimal trajectories for multiple vehicles using a combination of linear and integer programming. The vehicles are required to move from an initial dynamic state to a final state without colliding with each other or firing the thrusters in a way that would hit another vehicle. This problem is written as a linear program with mixed integer/linear constraints that prohibit collisions and plume impingements. A key benefit of this approach is that the problem can be readily solved using the AMPL language and CPLEX optimization software with a Matlab interface. Examples are given of this method applied to satellite cluster reconfiguration, ISS remote camera maneuvering and ground vehicle guidance. © 2001 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.