Design of the optimal thruster combinations table for the real time control allocation of spacecraft thrusters

The purpose of onboard thruster control allocation is to select specific thrusters and calculate their firing durations in order to realize force and torque commands derived from the control system of a spacecraft. This study is conducted to design an optimal thruster combinations table for the use of onboard real time control allocation problems. The algebraic method for generating the optimal thruster combinations table (OTCT) with respect to thruster configuration is explained in detail based on linear programming (LP). With the table pre-stored in the onboard computer, a simple but optimal algorithm to solve the thruster control allocation problem in real time is implemented. The proposed new algorithm, which has the same optimal solutions as LP algorithm, is much faster than LP in real time control allocation. Its effectiveness is demonstrated in the simulation.