Optimal control of a spacecraft with deployable solar arrays using particle swarm optimization algorithm

The optimal control problem of the multibody dynamics of a spacecraft in space, modeled as a central body with one-sided connected deployable solar arrays, is investigated. The dynamical equations of motion of the spacecraft with solar arrays are derived using the multibody dynamics method. The control of the attitude motion of a spacecraft system can be transformed into the motion planning problem of nonholonomic system when the initial angular momentum is zero. These are then used to investigate the motion planning of the spacecraft during solar arrays deployment via particle swarm optimization (PSO) and results are obtained with the optimal control input and the optimal trajectory. The results of numerical simulation show that this approach is effective for the control problem of the attitude of a spacecraft during the deployment process of its solar arrays.