Robust attitude control design for spacecraft under assigned velocity and control constraints

Area of Science:

• Aerospace Engineering
• Control Systems
• Robotics

Background:

• Spacecraft attitude stabilization is crucial for mission success.
• Existing control methods often struggle with actuator constraints and external disturbances.
• Robust control is essential for reliable spacecraft operation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel robust nonlinear control design for rigid spacecraft attitude stabilization.
• To explicitly account for angular velocity constraints, actuator torque limits, and external disturbances.
• To address actuator misalignments and magnitude deviations in the control allocation.

Main Methods:

• A nonlinear feedback control is designed considering velocity and torque constraints.
• A modified robust least-squares based control allocator is employed.
• Optimization algorithms are used to minimize the worst-case residual error in control allocation.

Main Results:

• The proposed control design effectively stabilizes spacecraft attitude under constraints.
• The control allocator successfully distributes moments while managing actuator imperfections.
• Numerical simulations validate the performance of the robust control strategy.

Conclusions:

• The developed robust nonlinear control offers a viable solution for spacecraft attitude stabilization.
• The integrated approach effectively handles system constraints and uncertainties.
• This methodology enhances the reliability and performance of spacecraft attitude control systems.