Formation flying along libration point orbits using chattering attenuation sliding mode control

Abstract

This paper studies a control law to achieve formation flying in cislunar space. Utilizing the eigenstructure of the linearized flow around a libration point of the Earth-Moon circular restricted three-body problem, the fuel efficient formation flying controller based on the chattering attenuation sliding mode controller is designed and analyzed. Numerical studies are conducted for the Earth-Moon L2 point and a halo orbit around it. The total velocity change required to achieve formation as well as to maintain the orbit is calculated. Simulation results show that the chattering attenuation sliding mode controller has good performance and robustness in the presence of unmodeled nonlinearity along the halo orbit with moderate fuel consumption.

Novel Learning for Control of Nonlinear Spacecraft Dynamics

“…Bando, et. al, [5] proposed a chattering attenuation sliding mode control utilizing the eigen structure of the linearized flow around a libration point of the Earth-Moon circular restricted three-body problem, and this novel article serves as a reminder of the prevalence of linearization when dealing with multiple, coupled nonlinear equations. In 2021, Colombia presented a guidance, navigation and control framework for 6 degrees of freedom (6DOF) coupled Cislunar rendezvous and docking, and the article highlighted the importance of dealing with full, coupled translational-rotational dynamics of multi-body (i.e., highly flexible) dynamics seeking guaranteed coupled-state estimation [6].…”