Switching control for spacecraft body-fixed hovering to tumbling target by using second order sliding mode

In consideration of the on/off operational mode of jet thruster, the relative orbit control problem of spacecraft hovering to tumbling target in target’s body-fixed frame is discussed. By utilizing the discontinuous nature of sliding mode control (SMC) method, a second order SMC law is designed to tackle the uncertain system dynamics and external disturbance. Based on the homogeneous criteria of high order sliding mode (HOSM), the sufficient conditions of control parameters are given to guarantee the finite time stability. Finally, numerical simulations about spacecraft hovering to tumbling target are carried out to verify the performance with developed switching control algorithm.