Spacecraft formation flying has recently been proposed and examined in the space systems community as a promising alternative to monolithic and often large space structures. Optimal balanced-energy control of such distributed space systems potentially increases their lifetime and-can serve as an important baseline in mission feasibility studies. In this paper, an optimal balanced-energy control strategy for two- and three- spacecraft distributed space systems is proposed. Along the way, we will delineate relevant mission scenarios in deep space, as well as those that operate in Earth's gravitational sphere, of influence. Simulation results demonstrating the ramifications of our theoretical analysis are also provided.
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