Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Spacecraft Attitude Tracking with Kalman Filter

This technical paper provides an attitude tracking strategy by employing a nonlinear model predictive controller (NMPC). To directly use the relative navigation information, the piecewise affine (PWA) model based on the Euler dynamics is adopted. Due to the singularity of Euler angles, a singularity-free strategy is proposed to complete continuous attitude tracking. Consider the sensor uncertainty and disturbance, the Kalman filter is combined with the NMPC framework. Finally, the numerical results are presented to show the control performance.