High precision attitude dynamic tracking control of a moving space target

Abstract On-orbit spacecraft face many threats, such as collisions with debris or other spacecraft. Therefore, perception of the surrounding space environment is vitally important for on-orbit spacecraft. Spacecraft require a dynamic attitude tracking ability with high precision for such missions. This paper aims to address the above problem using an improved backstepping controller. The tracking mission is divided into two phases: coarse alignment and fine alignment. In the first phase, a traditional saturation controller is utilized to limit the maximum attitude angular velocity according to the actuator’s ability. For the second phase, the proposed backstepping controller with different virtual control inputs is applied to track the moving target. To fulfill the high precision attitude tracking requirements, a hybrid attitude control actuator consisting of a Control Moment Gyro (CMG) and Reaction Wheel (RW) is constructed, which can simultaneously avoid the CMG singularity and RW saturation through the use of an angular momentum optimal management strategy, such as null motion. Finally, five simulation scenarios were carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy and hybrid actuator.