Vibration suppression and attitude control for the formation flight of flexible satellites by optimally tuned on-off state-dependent Riccati equation approach

In this paper, vibration suppression and attitude control for the formation flight of flexible satellites using optimally tuned on-off SDRE (state-dependent Riccati equation) approach is discussed. A formation consisting of flexible satellites has highly nonlinear dynamics and the corresponding satellites are subject to vibrations as well as uncertainties due to the practical conditions. Vibrations that are mainly caused by flexible modes of the satellites disorganize the coordination and hinder the formation stability as well as decreasing its performance and lifetime. Hence, flexibility should be considered in formation model and the coordination control needs to address such challenges. Owing to capabilities of SDRE approach for nonlinear systems, it is used as the coordination control. Satellites are assumed to be equipped with thrusters as their actuators which requires the control to be applied as on-off pulses. To this end, an algorithm is suggested to efficiently convert SDRE control into on-off pulses. For optimal tuning of the controller, the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is employed. Stability of the system has also been analyzed via a Lyapunov-based approach utilizing the region of attraction concept. The proposed on-off SDRE approach has shown to effectively suppress the vibrations in the presence of uncertainties leading to the accurate coordination of the whole formation while consuming less energy. Simulation results show the capability, efficiency, robustness and stability of the suggested approach.