Fast trajectory tracking of electromagnetic satellite formation with actuator saturation

Electromagnetic formation flight leverages electromagnetic force to control the relative position of satellites. This new propulsion technique offers a promising alternative to traditional propellant-based spacecraft formation flying since it does not consume fuel. Due to the restriction of maximum current in coils, the available inter-satellite electromagnetic force is small, and its efficient use is an important issue. In this paper, a modified far-field model is proposed to gain better accuracy of electromagnetic force approximation. Based on this model, an adaptive terminal sliding mode control is proposed to achieve fast trajectory tracking. The given method can guarantee the finite-time convergence of tracking error in the presence of bounded disturbance, input uncertainty, and saturation. Numerical simulation results demonstrate the performance and robustness of the proposed control.