Decentralised finite-time attitude synchronisation and tracking control for rigid spacecraft

The problem of finite-time attitude synchronisation and tracking for a group of rigid spacecraft nonlinear dynamics is investigated in this paper. First of all, in the presence of environmental disturbance, a novel decentralised control law is proposed to ensure that the spacecraft attitude error dynamics can converge to the sliding surface in finite time; then the final practical finite-time stability of the attitude error dynamics can be guaranteed in small regions. Furthermore, a modified finite-time control law is proposed to address the control chattering. The control law can guarantee a group of spacecraft to attain desired time-varying attitude and angular velocity while maintaining attitude synchronisation with other spacecraft in the formation. Simulation examples are provided to illustrate the feasibility of the control algorithm presented in this paper.