An Iterative Guidance and Navigation Algorithm for Orbit Rendezvous of Cooperating CubeSats

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Congratulations on the work. 

Please, explain why the CubeSat form factor -dimensions & mass- were not considered in the analysis? Moreover, the impact of the equipment, such as sensors and actuators?

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

the simulation result shows the relative error going to zero. however, for the rendez-vous to occur, the relative velocity must also be simultaneously zero. This must be shown.

figure 3 is not enough to show the results of the monte carlo simulation.  

what happens outside the maneuver plan should also be better explained.

Author Response

We would like to thank the reviewer for his/her comments. Our answers are as follows:

1) The results for the velocity have been added in Fig. 3, and they show that the velocity error goes to zero after the application of the second impulse, as rightfully asked by the reviewer.

2) The results of the Monte Carlo simulation are not only those reported in Fig. 4 (Fig. 3 of the old manuscript). Table 2 gives an insight into the results too, by showing the estimation accuracy achieved by the navigation over the entire set of Monte Carlo runs.

3) A comment on the out-of-plane motion has been added at the end of Sec. 4.1, to explain that there is no out-of-plane motion, as the orbit is totally keplerian and no perturbations have been considered.