Nonlinear Orbit Control for Small Satellite Missions with Hardware-In-The-Loop Testing
Virna SISTI, Stefano CARLETTA, Mauro PONTANI, Paolo TEOFILATTO
Abstract. This study presents the implementation and Hardware-In-The-Loop testing of a Lyapunov-based nonlinear orbit control algorithm. The controller, formulated in modified equinoctial elements, compensates for perturbations associated with aerodynamic drag and Earth oblateness, assuming steerable and throttlable low-thrust propulsion. The algorithm employs a scaling method to preserve numerical precision within limited memory resources. After implementation on an Artix-7 FPGA, a Monte Carlo Hardware-In-The-Loop campaign is performed simulating a LEO-GEO transfer with uncertain orbital parameters at departure. The results show good agreement with those from numerical simulations, which encourages further investigation of FPGA-based nonlinear control for satellite missions.
Keywords
Nonlinear Orbit Control, Hardware-In-The-Loop, FPGA
Published online 7/20/2026, 6 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Virna SISTI, Stefano CARLETTA, Mauro PONTANI, Paolo TEOFILATTO, Nonlinear Orbit Control for Small Satellite Missions with Hardware-In-The-Loop Testing, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 69, pp 1101-1106, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904251-190
The article was published as article 190 of the book CEAS – AIDAA Conference 2025
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
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