Adaptive control and stabilization of elastic spacecraft

This work treats the question of large angle rotational maneuver and stabilization of an elastic spacecraft (spacecraft-beam-tip body configuration). It is assumed that the parameters of the system are completely unknown. An adaptive control law is derived for the rotational maneuver of the spacecraft. Using the adaptive controller, asymptotically decoupled control of the pitch angle of the space vehicle is accomplished, however this maneuver causes elastic deformation of the beam connecting the orbiter and tip body. For the stabilization of the zero dynamics (flexible dynamics), a stabilizer is designed using elastic mode velocity feedback. In the closed-loop system including the adaptive controller and the stabilizer, reference pitch angle trajectory tracking and vibration suppression are accomplished. Simulation results are presented to show the maneuver capability of the control system     

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.     

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.     

Adaptive Integral-type Sliding Mode Control for Spacecraft Attitude Maneuvering Under Actuator Stuck Failures

A fault tolerant control (FTC) design technique against actuator stuck faults is investigated using integral-type sliding mode control (ISMC) with application to spacecraft attitude maneuvering control system. The principle of the proposed FTC scheme is to design an integral-type sliding mode attitude controller using on-line parameter adaptive updating law to compensate for the effects of stuck actuators. This adaptive law also provides both the estimates of the system parameters and external disturbances such that a prior knowledge of the spacecraft inertia or boundedness of disturbances is not required. Moreover, by including the integral feedback term, the designed controller can not only tolerate actuator stuck faults, but also compensate the disturbances with constant components. For the synthesis of controller, the fault time, patterns and values are unknown in advance, as motivated from a practical spacecraft control application. Complete stability and performance analysis are presented and illustrative simulation results of application to a spacecraft show that high precise attitude control with zero steady-error is successfully achieved using various scenarios of stuck failures in actuators.     

基于有向图的航天器编队飞行自适应姿态协同控制

在有向通信拓扑下研究了编队航天器自适应姿态协同控制问题。针对航天器编队飞行系统中存在外部扰动和模型不确定性的情况,通过选取包含相对姿态误差和绝对姿态误差的辅助变量,提出了一种鲁棒自适应控制策略。提出了自适应律估计转动惯量矩阵和扰动上界等未知参数,并且利用Lyapunov稳定性理论分析了闭环系统的渐近稳定性。与滑模控制等传统鲁棒控制不同,所设计的鲁棒自适应控制器是连续的,更便于航天器编队飞行系统的实现。最后通过仿真验证了该控制策略能够实现高精度的编队飞行跟踪控制。     

Sliding-mode controller design for spacecraft attitude trackingmaneuvers

A robust sliding-mode control law that deals with spacecraft attitude tracking problems is presented. Two important natural properties related to the spacecraft model of motion are discussed. It is shown that by using these properties and the second method of Lyapunov theory, the system stability in the sliding mode can be easily achieved. The success of the sliding-mode controller and its robustness relating to uncertainties are illustrated by an example of multiaxial attitude tracking maneuvers     

Output stabilization of flexible spacecraft with active vibration suppression

Addressed here is the problem of designing a dynamic controller capable of performing rest-to-rest maneuvers for flexible spacecraft, by using attitude measures. This controller does not need the knowledge of modal variables and spacecraft angular velocity. The absence of measurements of these variables is compensated by appropriate dynamics of the controller, which supplies their estimates. The Lyapunov technique is applied in the design of this dynamic controller. Possible source of instability of the controlled system in real cases are the influence of the flexibility on the rigid motion, the presence of disturbances acting on the structure, and parameter variations. In order to attenuate their effects and to damp out undesirable vibrations affecting the spacecraft attitude, distributed piezoelectric actuators are used. In fact, in presence of disturbances and/or parameter variation the proposed controller ensures an approximate solution of the control problem.     

挠性航天器的退步直接自适应姿态跟踪控制

针对参数不确定的挠性航天器姿态跟踪控制问题,提出了一种退步直接自适应控制算法。首先验证了挠性航天器动力学子系统的近似严格正实性,并设计了具有理想控制性能的参考模型;然后对以姿态四元数描述的运动学子系统设计常系数输出反馈中间控制律,使航天器姿态四元数输出渐近跟踪参考模型输出;最后退一步,对具有参数不确定特性的动力学子系统,基于非线性直接自适应控制理论和Lyapunov稳定性理论,设计了退步直接自适应姿态跟踪控制器,并证明了闭环系统的稳定性。仿真结果表明,所提控制方法能有效抑制挠性附件的振动,对挠性航天器的控制是有效的。     

翻滚非合作目标逼近与跟踪的轨道和姿态控制

面向近距离逼近与捕获翻滚非合作目标的在轨服务空间清理任务需求,研究了航天器非合作式交会对接的轨道和姿态控制问题。在控制输入受限约束下,考虑存在参数不确定性和外部扰动的情况,结合滑模控制和自适应控制技术,分别进行鲁棒自适应位置和姿态控制器设计。利用自适应控制估计参数不确定性、未知干扰上界以及滑模控制反馈系数矩阵,提高了系统的鲁棒性。通过李雅普诺夫理论证明了系统在控制器作用下全局一致最终有界稳定。仿真结果验证了控制器的有效性,能够有效解决与高速旋转非合作目标的稳定相对位姿关系建立的难题。     

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.     

Rotational maneuver of nonlinear uncertain elastic spacecraft

The question of attitude control and elastic mode stabilization of a spacecraft (orbiter) with beam-tip-mass-type payloads is considered. A three-axis moment control law is derived to control the attitude of the spacecraft. The derivation of the control moments acting on the spacecraft does not require any information on the system dynamics. The control law includes a reference model and a dynamic compensator in the feedback path. For damping out the elastic motion excited by the slewing maneuver, an elastic mode stabilizer is designed. The stabilization is achieved by modal velocity feedback using force and torque actuators located at the payload end of the elastic beam. Collocated actuators and sensors provide robust stabilization. Simulation results are presented to show that rotational maneuvers and vibration stabilization can be accomplished in the closed-loop systems despite the presence of model uncertainty and disturbance torque in the system     

A composite control scheme for attitude maneuvering and elastic mode stabilization of flexible spacecraft with measurable output feedback

This paper treats the question of attitude maneuver control and elastic mode stabilization of a flexible spacecraft based on adaptive sliding mode theory and active vibration control technique using piezoelectric materials. More precisely, a modified positive position feedback (PPF) scheme is developed to design the PPF compensator gains in a more systematical way to stabilize the vibration modes in the inner loop, in which a cost function is introduced to be minimized by the feedback gains subject to the stability criterion at the same time. Based on adaptive sliding mode control theory, a discontinuous attitude control law is derived to achieve the desired position of the spacecraft, taking explicitly into account the mismatched perturbation and actuator constraints. In the attitude control law, an adaptive mechanism is also embedded such that the unknown upper bound of perturbation is automatically adapted. Once the controlled attitude control system reaches the switching hyperplane, the state variables can be driven into a small bounded region. An additional attractive feature of the attitude control method is that the structure of the controller is independent of the elastic mode dynamics of the spacecraft, since in practice the measurement of flexible modes is not easy or feasible. The proposed control strategy has been implemented on a flexible spacecraft. Both analytical and numerical results are presented to show the theoretical and practical merit of this approach.     

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.     

Capture and detumbling control for active debris removal by a dual-arm space robot

Active debris removal (ADR) technology is an effective approach to remediate the proliferation of space debris, which seriously threatens the operational safety of orbital spacecraft. This study aims to design a controller for a dual-arm space robot to capture tumbling debris, including capture control and detumbling control. Typical space debris is considered as a non-cooperative target, which has no specific capture points and unknown dynamic parameters. Compliant clamping control and the adaptive backstepping-based prescribed trajectory tracking control (PTTC) method are proposed in this paper. First, the differential geometry theory is utilized to establish the constraint equations, the dynamic model of the chaser-target system is obtained by applying the Hamilton variational principle, and the compliance clamping controller is further designed to capture the non-cooperative target without contact force feedback. Next, in the post-capture phase, an adaptive backstepping-based PTTC is proposed to detumble the combined spacecraft in the presence of model uncertainties. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to validate the feasibility of the proposed capture and detumbling control method. Simulation results indicate that the target detumbling achieved by the PTTC method can reduce propellant consumption by up to 24.11%.     

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.     

使用变速控制力矩陀螺的航天器鲁棒自适应姿态跟踪控制

 研究以变速控制力矩陀螺群（VSCMGs）为执行机构的航天器姿态跟踪问题。采用四元数描述姿态, 在姿态误差的描述中引入了现时姿态与期望姿态之间的方向余弦矩阵。考虑执行机构模型参数不确定和有外干扰的情况, 姿态误差动力学方程为多输入多输出(MIMO)的非线性系统。基于Lyapunov理论设计了鲁棒自适应控制器, 运用光滑投影算法避免了估计参数陷入奇异。仿真结果表明, 设计的鲁棒自适应控制律明显地缩小了姿态跟踪误差, 很好地解决了外部环境干扰和执行机构由于安装误差或机械磨损造成的轴承方向未对准的问题。     

空间对接地面半物理仿真台系统仿真研究

 飞行器空间对接地面半物理(HIL)仿真台是进行空间对接技术研究、对接机构地面检测以及对接过程的故障复现等多种用途的关键设备。论文阐述了飞行器空间对接地面半物理仿真台系统建构思想。在此基础上推导出空间对接地面半物理仿真台的空间对接动力学模型。基于物理建模的思想,用SimMechanics工具箱建立了空间对接地面半物理仿真台的机械系统,用Matlab/Simulink建立了控制系统模型,建构了虚拟空间对接地面半物理仿真台。采用滞后补偿等使系统的闭环动态性能达到要求。在空间对接地面半物理仿真台虚拟样机上,采用无阻尼振荡模型对空间对接动力学模型等进行了验证,对空间对接的缓冲过程进行了仿真。仿真结果表明空间对接动力学模型是正确的,空间对接地面半物理仿真台系统的建构思想是可行的。     

Experimental study in adaptive tracking control

The authors describe an experimental study of adaptive pointing and tracking control for flexible spacecraft conducted on a complex ground experiment facility. The algorithm used is based on a multivariable direct model reference adaptive control law. Several experimental validation studies performed using this algorithm for vibration damping and robust regulation are extended by addressing the pointing and tracking problem. As is consistent with an adaptive control framework, the plant is assumed to be poorly known to the extent that only system level knowledge of its dynamics is available. Explicit bounds on the steady-state pointing error are derived as functions of the adaptive controller design parameters. It is shown that good tracking performance can be achieved in an experimental setting by adjusting adaptive controller design weightings according to the guidelines indicated by the analytical expressions for the error     

对失控航天器在轨服务的自适应滑模控制器设计

为实现对自由翻滚的失控目标航天器进行在轨服务,基于二阶滑模控制算法设计了相对位置与姿态耦合的自适应控制器。考虑相对转动对相对平动的耦合作用,建立了两航天器对接端口间相对位置与姿态耦合的动力学模型,并在此基础上设计了自适应Super twisting控制器,以减弱已知界限的有界干扰所产生的震颤效应,使闭环系统在有限时间内收敛到平衡点。利用李雅普诺夫方法证明了有界干扰下的闭环系统稳定性,并对收敛时间的上界进行了估计。仿真结果表明,与Super twisting算法相比,所设计的自适应二阶滑模控制器对参数不确定性及线性增长有界干扰具有较强的鲁棒性,且控制精度满足在轨服务的任务需求。     

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.