Initialization of Distributed Spacecraft Formations

In this paper, a solution to the formation initialization (FI) problem for N distributed spacecraft located in deep space is presented. The solution is based on a three-phase sky search procedure that reduces the formation initialization problem for N distributed spacecraft to the simpler problem of initializing a set of sub-formations. An analytical proof demonstrating that the algorithm guarantees formation initialization for N spacecraft constrained to a plane is presented. An upper bound on the time to initialize a planar formation is also provided. Finally, the FI algorithm is demonstrated in simulation using NASA’s five-spacecraft Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) mission as an example.