Distributed model independent algorithm for spacecraft synchronization under relative measurement bias

Abstract: This paper addresses the problem of distributed coordination control of spacecraft formation. It is assumed that the agents measure relative positions of each other with a non-zero, unknown constant sensor bias. The translational dynamics of the spacecraft is expressed in Euler-Lagrangian form. We propose a novel distributed, model independent control law for synchronization of networked Euler Lagrange system with biased measurements. An adaptive control law is derived based on Lyapunov analysis to estimate the bias. The proposed algorithm ensures that the velocities converge to that of leader exponentially while the positions converge to a bounded neighborhood of the leader positions. We have assumed a connected leader-follower network of spacecraft. Simulation results on a six spacecraft formation corroborate our theoretical findings.