Cluster flight algorithms for distributed satellite based on cyclic pursuit

This paper investigates the cluster flight algorithm via the cyclic pursuit strategy in order to execute the coordination periodic motion of the distributed satellites. The proposed coordinated control law combining the cyclic pursuit strategy and diffeomorphism mapping is applied to match the trajectory of the cyclic pursuit and the natural periodic relative motion at low earth orbit environment considering the earth oblateness perturbation. The ultimate goal of the proposed method is to implement a cluster flight of multiple modules in the distributed satellite. Finally, a simulation example is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed cluster flight algorithms.