Basilisk-ROS 2 MPC

A Model Predictive Controller (MPC) for spacecraft position and attitude tracking with the Basilisk astrodynamics framework via the Basilisk-ROS 2 Bridge, built on the acados optimization framework.

The controller receives spacecraft states from a running Basilisk simulation over the bridge and publishes optimal thrust commands back in real time. It supports both direct thruster allocation and wrench-level (force/torque) control, and can optionally be operated interactively through RViz.

Leader-follower formation flying with three spacecraft controlled via identical ROS 2-based MPC, running in Basilisk simulation (left) and on the ATMOS free-flyers at KTH (right). See the paper for details.

Setup

Prerequisites

• Basilisk-ROS 2 Messages
• acados

Install

cd your_ros2_workspace/src
git clone https://github.com/DISCOWER/bsk-ros2-mpc.git
cd ..
colcon build --packages-up-to bsk-ros2-mpc
source install/setup.bash

Usage

Before launching any MPC controller, ensure the Basilisk simulation and the Basilisk-ROS 2 Bridge are both running (see bridge Quick Start).

Single Agent

ros2 launch bsk-ros2-mpc mpc.launch.py

Launch Options

Argument	Default	Description
namespace	bskSat	ROS 2 namespace for the agent
use_sim_time	False	Synchronize with /clock topic
type	wrench	wrench (force/torque) or da (direct allocation)
use_hill	True	Use Hill frame for MPC (when in orbit)
use_rviz	True	Launch RViz for visualization and interactive control
name_leader	""	Leader namespace (used by follower_wrench)
name_others	""	Space-separated namespaces of other agents for collision avoidance
skip_build	False	Skip acados solver codegen/build and reuse an existing compiled solver

Notes:

• name_others enables multi-agent avoidance by passing other agents' positions into MPC constraints. Leave it empty for single-agent runs.
• skip_build:=True is useful for faster startup when the solver has already been generated for the same controller/model configuration.

Example:

Single-agent

ros2 launch bsk-ros2-mpc mpc.launch.py namespace:=bskSat0 type:=wrench use_hill:=True use_rviz:=True skip_build:=False

Multi-agent avoidance example (track bskSat1 and bskSat2)

ros2 launch bsk-ros2-mpc mpc.launch.py namespace:=bskSat0 type:=wrench name_others:="bskSat1 bskSat2"

Troubleshooting

Missing acados dependencies: If the launch fails during solver generation, ensure the Python package acados_template is installed and that $ACADOS_SOURCE_DIR is correctly exported in your .bashrc.

Shared library error: If you encounter ImportError: libacados.so: cannot open shared object file, ensure your $LD_LIBRARY_PATH includes $ACADOS_SOURCE_DIR/lib.

Missing message types: If you receive errors about unknown types, ensure bsk_msgs and bsk_mpc_msgs are built and your workspace is fully sourced.

References

• Basilisk-ROS 2 Bridge
• Basilisk-ROS 2 Messages
• Basilisk Astrodynamics Simulation
• ROS 2 Documentation
• acados