Date of Award
2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Committee Chair
Yuri Shtessel
Committee Member
John D. Williams
Committee Member
Richard L. Fork
Subject(s)
Space debris., Sliding mode control., Lasers in aeronautics., Lasers--Scientific applications.
Abstract
This thesis explores the use of a space-based laser to clean up small orbital debris from near Earth space. This system's challenge is to quickly and precisely aim the laser beam at very small (<1cm) and distant (<10km) moving orbital debris in the presence of parametric uncertainties and external disturbances. A mathematical model is derived for the debris position sensors, a Fast Steering Mirror (FSM), and a telescope which are used to track the orbital debris and then point and focus the laser beam onto the orbital debris. A Kalman Filter (KF) is designed to accurately track the orbital debris and generate a command signal for the controller. A second order Super Twisting Sliding Mode Controller (2-SMC) is designed to follow the command signal generated by the KF and to overcome the parametric uncertainties and external disturbances. The performance of the system is validated with a computer simulation created in MATLAB and Simulink.
Recommended Citation
Palosz, Arthur, "Higher order sliding mode control of laser pointing for orbital debris mitigation" (2013). Theses. 28.
https://louis.uah.edu/uah-theses/28