Nonlinear Adaptive Feedback Control for Spacecraft Proximity Formation Flying

Spacecraft proximity formation flying is essential for future autonomous space mission such as autonomous rendezvous and docking and assembly of space system on-orbit. In order to improve the autonomy of relative motion control between two spacecrafts and concerning the effect of perturbation by bounded uncertain disturbance, a novel nonlinear adaptive feedback controller is developed based on sliding mode control law to maintain the desired reference trajectory as precisely as possible. The simulation results demonstrate the control scheme can effectively carry out the relative motion maintenance and have better asymptotically stability.