Non-model-based robust controller design for flexible spacecraft

This paper presents a class of non-model-based position controllers for a kind of flexible spacecraft. A very basic system energy relationship of the flexible spacecraft is involved in the controller design and stability analysis instead of system dynamics themselves. With the controllers, one can achieve not only the closed-loop stability of the original distributed-parameter system, but also the asymptotic stability of the truncated system, which is obtained through representing the deflection of the appendage by an arbitrary finite number of flexible modes. Simulation results carried out on a kind of spacecraft with one flexible appendage justify the effectiveness of the proposed controller.