Distributed Fixed-time Attitude Synchronization Control for Multiple Rigid Spacecraft

This paper investigates the distributed fixed-time attitude synchronization control problem for multiple rigid spacecraft system with external disturbances. Based on sliding-mode estimators, the authors remove the requirement of neighbours' input control information. Using the fixed-time-based terminal sliding mode, the distributed adaptive control laws are developed to guarantee the attitude tracking errors converge to the regions in fixed time independent of initial conditions, and adaptive laws are employed to deal with external disturbances. Finally, numerical simulations are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed controllers.