Robust spacecraft attitude tracking control using hybrid actuators with uncertainties

The problem of spacecraft attitude tracking using hybrid actuators with uncertainties is addressed in this paper. A hybrid actuators configuration that combines reaction wheels for fine pointing and single gimbal control moment gyros for rapid maneuvering is employed for agile spacecraft. A robust control algorithm for the spacecraft attitude tracking problem when the torque axis direction and/or input scaling of the actuators are uncertain is developed. Furthermore, a torque allocation method is proposed for the hybrid actuator configuration to allow a smooth switch between single gimbal control moment gyros and reaction wheels. With this method, single gimbal control moment gyros are used for the phase of rapid maneuvering, while reaction wheels are used for the phase of fine pointing. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.