Spacecraft High Accuracy Attitude Control by Quaternion-Based Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion

Attitude control of spacecraft is an important operation that is general to every spacecraft. However, it is a challenging task due to the nonlinearity present in the spacecraft rotational equations when a certain requirement is demanded from a mission. Linearization can make system simple. But it is accurate only in small range. InfraRed Astronomy Satellite Swarm Interferometer (IRASSI) is a mission which demands an attitude accuracy better than 0.4 arcsec. Thus, in this paper, we check the feasibility of nonlinear dynamic inversion control method for single IRASSI satellite. Quaternion is chosen as the parameter for attitude description due to its singularity free property and avoidance of gimbal-lock phenomenon. In order to provide the shortest distance maneuver to save time and energy, the unwinding problem is also considered due to quaternion's 2: 1 mapping.