Multiple-model control for spacecraft under actuation sign errors

This paper addresses the attitude tracking control problem of spacecraft in the presence of sign errors in actuator response which are uncertain in occurring time instants and patterns. Either a software or hardware fault may cause such an actuation sign error which will lead to the system instability even loss of spacecraft. A multiple-model control scheme, consisted of a bank of controllers and a control switching mechanism, is developed to compensate such actuation sign errors and to ensure the system stability and asymptotic attitude tracking properties. Simulation results are presented to verify the performance of the proposed multiple-model control scheme.