Robust Adaptive Sliding Mode Attitude Tracking Control for Spacecraft Formation Flying

This paper considers the problem of the multi-target attitude tracking control for spacecraft formation flying. A robust multi-target attitude tracking control using adaptive sliding mode technique is developed, where the attitude of the leader spacecraft is represented by the Euler parameter to avoid the singular points. It is assumed that the parameters of the system and the disturbances from space environment are unknown. The upper bounds of the uncertainties are estimated by an adaptive law. Using Lyapunov stability analysis technique, we prove that the overall closed-loop system is asymptotically stable. Since neither linearization nor decoupling was used to simplify the model, the control result is more precise. Numerical simulation results demonstrate the good performances of the proposed the controller for the multi-target attitude tracking of spacecraft formation flying.