Fast sliding mode control for attitude maneuver of a flexible spacecraft

For the issue of attitude maneuver control of a large flexible spacecraft, a new control scheme of fast terminal sliding mode control based on path planning is proposed. The attitude dynamics state equation of a flexible spacecraft with single gimbal control moment gyros was established. To solve the problem that the attitude maneuver often leads to strong vibration of flexible appendages, the maneuvering path planning based on a curve of cosinusoidal angular acceleration change was given. Using the character that the fast sliding mode surface can converge to zero in finite time, a fast terminal sliding mode control strategy is designed based on the attitude error dynamics equation to tracking the planned maneuvering path. The simulation result shows the validity of the proposed method.