Spacecraft Attitude Pointing Control under Pointing Forbidden Constraints with Guaranteed Accuracy

Abstract: This paper focuses on the attitude pointing control problem under pointing-forbidden constraints and performance constraints. The spacecraft is expected to align its sensor's boresight to a desired direction, while the terminal control accuracy and the attitude adjustment rapidity should also be guaranteed simultaneously. To resolve this problem, a switching controller structure is proposed in this paper based on the reduced-attitude representation, fusing the artificial potential field (APF) methodology and the Prescribed Performance Control (PPC) scheme together. Firstly, a novel artificial potential field is presented, and a particular function is designed for the mollification of the switching process, aiming at providing a smooth transition for the system status. Subsequently, we propose a special performance function, which can freeze the PPC part when necessary. In this way, the intrinsic contradictory between the fast attitude maneuver and forbidden direction avoidance is tackled Further, an asynchronous switching strategy is designed, guarantees the system's stability. Based on these proposed issues, a switching backstepping controller is developed, and a tracking differentiator(TD) is employed to generate a smooth approximation of differential signals. Numerical simulation results are illustrated to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.