Attitude tracking control for satellite formation flying

In satellite formation flying, a controllable follower satellite flies around a leader spacecraft or space station to carry out various missions. The attitude control problem for this formation flying was studied using quaternion based control law assuming that the orbit information is known for both satellites. The desired attitude of the follower is determined from the orbit information with expressions given for the angle, angular velocity and angular acceleration of the satellite. Long duration, large angle attitude tracking maneuvers are achieved with three perpendicular reaction wheels. Simulations show that the control law can effectively control the attitude and angular velocity of the follower to match the predicted movement for one or more orbit periods, and that the total moment is acceptable.