Robust attitude coordinated control for spacecraft formation with communication delays

In this paper,attitude coordinated tracking control algorithms for multiple spacecraft formation are investigated with consideration of parametric uncertainties,external disturbances,communication delays and actuator saturation.Initially,a sliding mode delay-dependent attitude coordinated controller is proposed under bounded external disturbances.However,neither inertia uncertainty nor actuator constraint has been taken into account.Then,a robust saturated delay dependent attitude coordinated control law is further derived,where uncertainties and external disturbances are handled by Chebyshev neural networks (CNN).In addition,command filter technique is introduced to facilitate the backstepping design procedure,through which actuator saturation problem is solved.Thus the spacecraft in the formation are able to track the reference attitude trajectory even in the presence of time-varying communication delays.Rigorous analysis is presented by using Lyapunov-Krasovskii approach to demonstrate the stability of the closed-loop system under both control algorithms.Finally,the numerical examples are carried out to illustrate the efficiency of the theoretical results.     

Autonomous attitude coordinated control for spacecraft formation with input constraint,model uncertainties,and external disturbances

To synchronize the attitude of a spacecraft formation flying system, three novel autonomous control schemes are proposed to deal with the issue in this paper. The first one is an ideal autonomous attitude coordinated controller, which is applied to address the case with certain models and no disturbance. The second one is a robust adaptive attitude coordinated controller, which aims to tackle the case with external disturbances and model uncertainties. The last one is a filtered robust adaptive attitude coordinated controller, which is used to overcome the case with input con- straint, model uncertainties, and external disturbances. The above three controllers do not need any external tracking signal and only require angular velocity and relative orientation between a spacecraft and its neighbors. Besides, the relative information is represented in the body frame of each spacecraft. The controllers are proved to be able to result in asymptotical stability almost everywhere. Numerical simulation results show that the proposed three approaches are effective for attitude coordination in a spacecraft formation flying system.     

Event-triggered adaptive control for attitude tracking of spacecraft

Plug-and-play technology is an important direction for future development of spacecraft and how to design controllers with less communication burden and satisfactory performance is of great importance for plug-and-play spacecraft. Considering attitude tracking of such spacecraft with unknown inertial parameters and unknown disturbances, an event-triggered adaptive backstepping controller is designed in this paper. Particularly, a switching threshold strategy is employed to design the event-triggering mechanism. By introducing a new linear time-varying model, a smooth function, an integrable auxiliary signal and a bound estimation approach, the impacts of the network-induced error and the disturbances are effectively compensated for and Zeno phenomenon is successfully avoided. It is shown that all signals of the closed-loop system are globally uniformly bounded and both the attitude tracking error and the angular velocity tracking error converge to zero. Compared with conventional control schemes, the proposed scheme significantly reduces the communication burden while providing stable and accurate response for attitude maneuvers. Simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.     

Fixed-time position coordinated tracking control for spacecraft formation flying with collision avoidance

In this paper, the fixed-time stability of spacecraft formation reconfiguration (position tracking) is studied. Firstly, a novel nonsingular terminal sliding mode surface is designed and based on which a fixed-time coordinated controller is designed to keep the closed-loop system states have a finite settling time bounded by some predefined constants. Secondly, another nonsingular terminal sliding mode surface is designed by combining the artificial potential function and the aforementioned sliding surface, which meets the mutual distance constraint during transition process among spacecraft when it is bounded. Then another coordinated controller with fixed-time observer considering mutual distance constraint is presented, which guarantees the closed-loop system states stable also in bounded settling time. Finally, simulation results are shown to validate the correctness of the proposed theorems. It is worth mentioning that the control schemes also work even though there is a properly limit on the control input.     

Robust image-based coordinated control for spacecraft formation flying

This paper addresses a coordinated control problem for Spacecraft Formation Flying (SFF). The distributed followers are required to track and synchronize with the leader spacecraft. By using the feature points in the two-dimensional image space, an integrated 6-degree-of-freedom dynamic model is formulated for spacecraft relative motion. Without sophisticated three-dimensional reconstruction, image features are directly utilized for the controller design. The proposed image-based controller can drive the follower spacecraft in the desired configuration with respect to the leader when the real-time captured images match their reference counterparts. To improve the precision of the formation configuration, the proposed controller employs a coordinated term to reduce the relative distance errors between followers. The uncertainties in the system dynamics are handled by integrating the adaptive technique into the controller, which increases the robustness of the SFF system. The closed-loop system stability is analyzed using the Lyapunov method and algebraic graph theory. A numerical simulation for a given SFF scenario is performed to evaluate the performance of the controller.     

Distributed fixed-time attitude coordinated control for multiple spacecraft with actuator saturation

This paper investigates the distributed fixed-time attitude coordinated control problem for multiple spacecraft subject to actuator saturation under the directed topology. First, a distributed fixed-time observer is presented for each follower spacecraft to estimate the leader spacecraft’s states. Compared with the commonly used fixed-time observer, the settling time of the proposed fixed-time observer can be easily adjusted by some free design parameters. Next, a distributed fixed-time control ...     

Stabilization of the attitude of a rigid spacecraft with external disturbances using finite-time control techniques

In this paper, we consider the attitude stabilization problem for a rigid spacecraft with external disturbances. To obtain a better disturbance rejection property, we employ finite-time control techniques. In the absence of disturbances, by employing continuous finite-time control method, a continuous finite-time controller is designed such that the attitude of the rigid spacecraft will converge to the origin in finite time. In the presence of disturbances, by employing terminal sliding mode method, a discontinuous finite-time control law is proposed such that the states will eventually converge to a small region of the origin, which can be rendered as small as desired. Numerical simulation results show the effectiveness of the method.     

Shape control of spacecraft formation using a virtual spring-damper mesh

This paper derives a distance-based formation control method to maintain the desired formation shape for spacecraft in a gravitational potential field. The method is an analogy of a vir-tual spring-damper mesh. Spacecraft are connected virtually by spring-damper pairs. Convergence analysis is performed using the energy method. Approximate expressions for the distance errors and control accelerations at steady state are derived by using algebraic graph representations and results of graph rigidity. Analytical results indicate that if the underlying graph of the mesh is rigid, the convergence to a static shape is assured, and higher formation control precision can be achieved by increasing the elastic coefficient without increasing the control accelerations. A numerical exam-ple of spacecraft formation in low Earth orbit confirms the theoretical analysis and shows that the desired formation shape can be well achieved using the presented method, whereas the orientation of the formation can be kept pointing to the center of the Earth by the gravity gradient. The method is decentralized, and uses only relative measurement information. Constructing a distributed virtual structure in space can be the general application area. The proposed method can serve as an active shape control law for the spacecraft formations using propellantless internal forces.     

基于循环追踪控制的卫星编队构形调整控制律设计

卫星编队控制问题中,分布式控制优于主从式控制,在编队控制中应用日益广泛。提出了一种基于循环追踪算法的分布式控制策略,分析了该方法的优势。由于循环追踪算法存在编队中心由初始几何中心固定并与运动过程无关的弱点,引进了虚拟灯塔导引进行联合控制实现编队中心可变。建立了三维空间相对运动数学模型,设计非线性循环追踪算法与虚拟灯塔导引联合控制律,对全员联合控制与单星联合控制其余卫星采用非线性循环追踪控制两种方案的计算结果进行比较。结果表明,全员联合控制律的控制方案优于仅单星采用联合控制的方案,两种方案均可实现卫星编队按指定构形运动。     

Decentralized attitude synchronization tracking control for multiple spacecraft under directed communication topology

This paper studies the attitude synchronization tracking control of spacecraft formation flying with a directed communication topology and presents three different controllers. By introducing a novel error variable associated with rotation matrix, a decentralized attitude synchronization controller, which could obtain almost global asymptotical stability of the closed-loop system, is developed. Then, considering model uncertainties and unknown external disturbances, we propose a robust adaptive attitude synchronization controller by designing adaptive laws to estimate the unknown parameters. After that, the third controller is proposed by extending this method to the case of time-varying communication delays via Lyapunov–Krasovskii analysis. The distinctive feature of this work is to address attitude coordinated control with model uncertainties, unknown disturbances and time-varying delays in a decentralized framework, with a strongly connected directed information flow. It is shown that tracking and synchronization of an arbitrary desired attitude can be achieved when the stability condition is satisfied. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control schemes.     

Composite control method for stabilizing spacecraft attitude in terms of Rodrigues parameters

In this paper, the attitude stabilization problem of a rigid spacecraft described by Rodrigues parameters is investigated via a composite control strategy, which combines a feedback control law designed by a finite time control technique with a feedforward compensator based on a linear disturbance observer (DOB) method. By choosing a suitable coordinate transformation, the spacecraft dynamics can be divided into three second-order subsystems. Each subsystem includes a certain part and an uncertain part. By using the finite time control technique, a continuous finite time controller is designed for the certain part. The uncertain part is considered to be a lumped disturbance, which is estimated by a DOB, and a corresponding feedforward design is then implemented to compensate the disturbance. Simulation results are employed to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

基于旋转矩阵的预设时间航天器编队姿态协同控制

由多个航天器组成的编队系统对复杂的环境往往具有较高的适应性和容错性,能更高效率地完成单航天器难以完成的任务。因此主要针对多航天器系统的姿态协同控制问题,提出一种基于旋转矩阵的预设时间控制算法。首先,为了避免航天器姿态建模的奇异性和模糊性问题,采用旋转矩阵对航天器的姿态进行统一描述,同时结合有向的通信拓扑对航天器姿态协同控制系统进行建模。其次,为赋予系统可控的收敛速度,提出一种基于滑模的预设时间控制算法。该算法的引入使得航天器编队系统的收敛时间可以在合理的范围内任意给定。此外,为了实现系统对参数摄动和外部干扰的鲁棒性,采用神经网络和自适应算法对不确定性进行在线估计与补偿。最后,通过理论分析和数值仿真验证了所提预设时间控制算法的有效性。     

Onboard actuator model-based Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion for quadrotor attitude control: Method and application

This paper addresses the robust attitude control problem for quadrotors subject to model mismatch and disturbances. A dynamic inversion based attitude control scheme is proposed, which consists of an outer loop attitude controller and an inner loop angular acceleration controller. The attitude controller is designed based on the Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (NDI) to precisely linearize the nonlinear dynamics between the angular acceleration and the attitude. An onboard actuator model-based Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion (INDI) controller is designed in the angular acceleration control loop to improve the robustness against the model mismatch and disturbances. Meanwhile, the onboard actuator model with a modified structure eliminates the oscillation phenomenon when the sampling rate of the controller is higher than that of the actuator. Numerical simulations and flight tests demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed controller in comparison with the PID controller.     

Discrete time multiple spacecraft formation flying attitude optimal control in presence of relative state constraints

This paper addresses the challenge of synchronized multiple spacecraft attitude reorientation in presence of pointing and boundary constraints with limited inter-spacecraft communication link. Relative attitude pointing constraint among the fleet of spacecraft has also been modeled and considered during the attitude maneuvers toward the desired states. Formation fling control structure that consists of decentralized path planners based on virtual structure approach joint with discrete time optimal local controller is designed to achieve the mission’s goals. Due to digital computing of spacecraft’s onboard computer, local optimal controller based on discrete time prediction and correction algorithm has been utilized. The time step of local optimal algorithm execution is designed so that the spacecraft track their desired attitudes with appropriate error bound. The convergence of the proposed architecture and stability of local controller’s tracking error within appropriate upper bound are proved. Finally, a numerical simulation of a stereo imaging scenario is presented to verify the performance of the proposed architecture and the effectiveness of the algorithm.     

Adaptive finite-time backstepping control for attitude tracking of spacecraft based on rotation matrix

This paper investigates two finite-time controllers for attitude control of spacecraft based on rotation matrix by an adaptive backstepping method. Rotation matrix can overcome the draw- backs of unwinding which makes a spacecraft perform a large-angle maneuver when a small-angle maneuver in the opposite rotational direction is sufficient to achieve the objective, With the use of adaptive control, the first robust finite-time controller is continuous without a chattering phenom- enon. The second robust finite-time controller can compensate external disturbances with unknown bounds. Theoretical analysis shows that both controllers can make a spacecraft following a time-varying reference attitude signal in finite time and guarantee the stability of the overall closed-loop system. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control schemes.     

Spacecraft formation-containment flying control with time-varying translational velocity

This paper investigates the problem of Spacecraft Formation-Containment Flying Control (SFCFC) when the desired translational velocity is time-varying. In SFCFC problem, there are multiple leader spacecraft and multiple follower spacecraft and SFCFC can be divided into leader spacecraft’s formation control and follower spacecraft’s containment control. First, under the condition that only a part of leader spacecraft can have access to the desired time-varying translational velocity, a velocity estimator is designed for each leader spacecraft. Secondly, based on the estimated translational velocity, a distributed formation control algorithm is designed for leader spacecraft to achieve the desired formation and move with the desired translational velocity simultaneously. Then, to ensure all follower spacecraft converge to the convex hull formed by the leader spacecraft, a distributed containment control algorithm is designed for follower spacecraft. Moreover, to reduce the dependence of the designed control algorithms on the graph information and increase system robustness, the control gains are changing adaptively and the parametric uncertainties are handled, respectively. Finally, simulation results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

Anti-disturbance attitude control of combined spacecraft with enhanced control allocation scheme

In this paper, we propose a novel anti-disturbance attitude control law for combined spacecraft with an improved closed-loop control allocation scheme. More specifically, a saturated approach is adopted to guarantee the global asymptotic stability under control input saturation. To enhance the robustness of the system, a nonlinear disturbance observer is constructed to compensate the disturbances caused by inertial parameter uncertainty and unmodeled dynamics. Next, the quadratic programming algorithm is used to obtain an optimal open-loop control allocation scheme, where both energy consumption and actuator saturation have been considered in the allocation of the virtual control command. Then, a modified closed-loop control allocation scheme is proposed to reduce the allocation error under the actuator uncertainty. Finally, stability analysis of the closed-loop system with the proposed allocation scheme is provided. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Near minimum-time feedback attitude control with multiple saturation constraints for agile satellites

Agile satellites are of importance in modern aerospace applications,but high mobility of the satellites may cause them vulnerable to saturation during attitude maneuvers due to limited rating of actuators.This paper proposes a near minimum-time feedback control law for the agile satellite attitude control system.The feedback controller is formed by specially designed cascaded sub-units.The rapid dynamic response of the modified Bang–Bang control logic achieves the near optimal property and ensures the non-saturation properties on three-axis.To improve the dynamic performance,a model reference control strategy is proposed,in which the on-line near optimal attitude maneuver path is generated by the cascade controller and is then tracked by a nonlinear back-stepping controller.Furthermore,the accuracy and the robustness of the control system are achieved by momentum-based on-line inertial identification.The rapid attitude maneuvering can be applied for tasks including the move to move case.Numerical simulations are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy in terms of the saturation-free property and rapidness.     

Event-triggered and consensus-based attitude tracking alignment for discrete-time multiple spacecraft system exploiting interference

This paper presents a discrete-time attitude control strategy with equi-global practical stabilizability for aligning the attitude of multiple spacecraft to a predesigned configuration according to a time-variant reference. By utilizing the interference of the wireless channel, the communication scheme designed in this paper can save communication resources, amount of computation, and energy proportionally to the number of spacecraft. The exact discrete-time model and approximate discrete-time model of the consensus-based spacecraft tracking system are given. Then the framework for the design of an event-triggered control scheme for the exact discrete-time system via its approximate models is developed, which avoids the periodic actuation, and Zeno behavior is proved to be excluded. Furthermore, the control scheme can handle the presence of the unknown fading channel. Finally, simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the control strategy.     

Robust fault-tolerant attitude control for satellite with multiple uncertainties and actuator faults

In this paper, the satellite attitude control system subject to parametric perturbations,external disturbances, time-varying input delays, actuator faults and saturation is studied. In order to make the controller architecture simple and practical, the closed-loop system is transformed into a disturbance-free nominal system and an equivalent disturbance firstly. The equivalent disturbance represents all above uncertainties and actuator failures of the original system. Then a robust controller is...