Global Finite-Time Stabilization of Spacecraft Attitude With Disturbances via Continuous Nonlinear Controller

In this article, a robust continuous controller is investigated to solve the global finite-time attitude stabilization problem of rigid spacecraft system subject to multiple disturbances. The system order is first increased by derivation and the derivative of the actual torque is regarded as the virtual control law to be designed. Then, a super-twisting differentiator is constructed to provide finite-time angular acceleration estimations. Finally, based on the estimated angular accelerations, a discontinuous set stabilization control law is designed as the virtual controller. The actual continuous controller is obtained by integrating the discontinuous one. Rigorous proof and stability analysis are presented based on Lyapunov analysis. Compared with most of the existing finite-time control approaches in spacecraft systems, the proposed continuous control scheme guarantees the finite-time set stability of the closed-loop system. Moreover, the system states can converge to the equilibria even in the presence of derivative-bounded disturbances. Simulation studies of the proposed controller are illustrated to demonstrate the strong disturbance rejection ability, fast convergence rate, and high steady-state precision.

Automated summary

In this article, a robust continuous controller is investigated to solve the global finite-time attitude stabilization problem of rigid spacecraft system subject to multiple disturbances. The system order is increased by derivation and the derivative of the actual torque is regarded as the virtual control law to be designed. A super-twisting differentiator is constructed to provide finite-time angular acceleration estimations. Based on the estimated angular accelerations, a discontinuous set stabilization control law is designed as the virtual controller. Rigorous proof and stability analysis are presented based on Lyapunov analysis. Compared with existing approaches, the proposed continuous control scheme guarantees the finite-time set stability of the closed-loop system, even in the presence of derivative-bounded disturbances. Simulation studies demonstrate the strong disturbance rejection ability, fast convergence rate, and high steady-state precision of the proposed controller.