Composite control method for stabilizing spacecraft attitude in terms of Rodrigues parameters

In this paper, the attitude stabilization problem of a rigid spacecraft described by Rodrigues parameters is investigated via a composite control strategy, which combines a feedback control law designed by a finite time control technique with a feedforward compensator based on a linear disturbance observer (DOB) method. By choosing a suitable coordinate transformation, the spacecraft dynamics can be divided into three second-order subsystems. Each subsystem includes a certain part and an uncertain part. By using the finite time control technique, a continuous finite time controller is designed for the certain part. The uncertain part is considered to be a lumped disturbance, which is estimated by a DOB, and a corresponding feedforward design is then implemented to compensate the disturbance. Simulation results are employed to confirm the effectiveness of the proposed approach.