Distributed Attitude Synchronization Control of Switched Networked Satellite Formation Flying

Abstract This paper addresses the leader-follower finite-time attitude synchronization and stabilization for satellite formation flying (SFF) under directed switching communication topologies. Specifically, a distributed attitude synchronization control scheme is proposed to guarantee finite-time convergence to leader’s attitude and desired angular velocity for SFF under time-varying but jointly connected switching communication topologies. First, finite-time consensus protocols are designed for leader’s attitude tracking. The protocols are developed based on non-smooth control techniques such as homogeneity with dilatation and LaSalle invariance principle. Then, a distributed finite-time angular velocity estimator is designed using super-twisting sliding-mode control. The estimator helps solving communication loss issues, reducing communication burden, and canceling chattering effect due to high-rate convergence. Simulations are shown to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results.