A Backstepping Sliding Mode Controller Design for Spacecraft Formation Flying

Abstract

In this paper, a backstepping sliding mode controller is developed for tracking control of spacecraft formation flying on elliptical orbits. The controller is designed in accordance with the nonlinear model of relative motion, and combines the advantages of backstepping and sliding mode control techniques. After applying the backstepping method to incorporate the tracking errors and Lyapunov functions, a sliding mode controller is developed to guarantee the Lyapunov stability, handling all nonlinearities, robustness against uncertainties and tracking the desired trajectory. It is supposed that the leader and follower spacecraft are in a low Earth orbit while J2 perturbation and atmospheric drag are considered as external disturbances. The performance of the proposed controller in tracking the desired formation is compared to a sliding mode controller. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Neural-Network Based Finite-Time Coordinated Formation Control for Spacecraft Without Unwinding

“…In recent decades, great advances of automation have injected new ideas and vitality into the control methods for SFF. As a critical technique, the attitude synchronization and tracking control for SFF has become a magnet for application of various strategies, such as robust control [1][2][3] , sliding mode control (SMC) [4][5][6] , backstepping control [6][7] , adaptive control [2][3] , etc. Meanwhile, designing controllers for SFF faces great deal of challenges, involving communication delays, actuator failures, input saturation constraints.…”