Muti-object Collision Avoidance Method Based on Sequential Convex Optimization

As the number of spacecraft and space debris in Near-Earth Orbit (NEO) increases, the number of encounters between spacecraft and space debris continues to rise. It is imperative that spacecraft are equipped with the capacity to evade multiple collisions with space debris, as they may face such threats concurrently. A multi-collision avoidance method based on sequential convex optimization, which is designed to achieve short-term rendezvous of multiple space debris objects while considering the constraints of spacecraft thrust and collision probability, has been proposed. First, the continuous thrust control problem is transformed into a planning problem for impulse thrust. Then the relative dynamics and constraints are convexified to solve the planning problem using the sequential convex optimization method. The proposed method has been demonstrated to be effective in reducing the risk of spacecraft collision with space debris in the avoidance problem for multiple targets. It can also carry out long-time avoidance maneuver planning for low-thrust spacecraft and ensure lower fuel consumption. Furthermore, the solution to the sequence convex optimization problem has been shown to have a fast solution speed, making it suitable for autonomous computation.