Fractional-Order Sliding Mode Fault-Tolerant Attitude Controller for Spacecraft

ZHANG Meng; WANG Linan; ZHENG Dezhi; YI Xiaojian

doi:10.11999/JEIT250025

Volume 47 Issue 6

Jun. 2025

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ZHANG Meng, WANG Linan, ZHENG Dezhi, YI Xiaojian. Fractional-Order Sliding Mode Fault-Tolerant Attitude Controller for Spacecraft[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology, 2025, 47(6): 1712-1722. doi: 10.11999/JEIT250025

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ZHANG Meng, WANG Linan, ZHENG Dezhi, YI Xiaojian. Fractional-Order Sliding Mode Fault-Tolerant Attitude Controller for Spacecraft[J]. Journal of Electronics & Information Technology, 2025, 47(6): 1712-1722. doi: 10.11999/JEIT250025

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Fractional-Order Sliding Mode Fault-Tolerant Attitude Controller for Spacecraft

doi: 10.11999/JEIT250025 cstr: 32379.14.JEIT250025

1.
School of Cyber Science and Engineering, southeast university, Nanjing 211189, China
2.
Department of Systems Science, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
3.
Advanced Research Institute of Multidisciplinary Sciences, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
4.
School of Mechatronical Engineering, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (62325304, U22B2046, U24A20279), Jiangsu Provincial Scientific Research Center of Applied Mathematics (BK20233002)

Received Date: 2025-01-10
Rev Recd Date: 2025-05-13

Available Online: 2025-06-18

Publish Date: 2025-06-30

Abstract

Abstract

Objective Spacecraft attitude control under complex operational conditions remains limited by inadequate controller adaptability, insufficient precision, and rapid chattering near the sliding surface. Fractional-Order Sliding Mode Control (FOSMC), which integrates fractional calculus into control algorithms, offers improved modeling flexibility and robustness. Compared with conventional integer-order controllers, fractional-order controllers yield smoother responses and enhanced dynamic behavior. This study proposes a novel fault-tolerant control strategy that combines FOSMC with fault accommodation mechanisms to achieve accurate spacecraft attitude tracking in the presence of system faults and environmental disturbances. Methods A finite-time disturbance observer is proposed to unify actuator faults, inertia uncertainties, and external disturbances into a single lumped term. This formulation allows for accurate estimation of both the system state and disturbances, supporting effective compensation. The observer’s fast convergence and robustness are analytically demonstrated using finite-time stability theory. To further accelerate convergence and mitigate the chattering typically observed in conventional sliding mode control, a finite-time fault-tolerant controller based on fractional-order sliding mode is developed. This controller ensures finite-time stabilization of spacecraft attitude and angular velocity. Results and Discussions To evaluate the effectiveness and performance advantages of the proposed method, a comparative analysis is conducted against an Integer-Order Sliding Mode Controller (IOSMC) using MATLAB simulations. Figure 1 shows the estimation error of the proposed finite-time observer, demonstrating its ability to rapidly and accurately estimate the lumped disturbance term. Figure 2 presents the attitude response trajectories under both control strategies, with blue and red lines corresponding to the fractional-order and integer-order controllers, respectively. Although both methods successfully track the desired attitude, the FOSMC exhibits significantly faster convergence. Figure 3 displays the angular velocity error curves, indicating that the FOSMC achieves finite-time stabilization. In comparison with the IOSMC, the proposed controller yields quicker convergence and reduced steady-state error. Figure 4 illustrates the control torque profiles, revealing that the FOSMC produces smoother torque outputs. Conclusions This study proposes a spacecraft attitude controller based on fractional-order sliding mode theory to reduce the high-frequency chattering observed near the sliding surface in conventional terminal sliding mode control. By incorporating fractional-order calculus into the control framework, a fault-tolerant strategy is developed to enhance the performance of spacecraft attitude systems under uncertain and faulty conditions. Simulation results validate the following advantages: (1) Compared with the IOSMC algorithm, the proposed controller achieves faster convergence and improved chattering suppression. (2) Actuator faults, inertia uncertainties, and external disturbances are consolidated into a unified disturbance term, which is accurately estimated by a finite-time disturbance observer for effective compensation. (3) The use of a fractional-order non-singular terminal sliding surface, together with Lyapunov-based analysis, provides a rigorous guarantee of finite-time stability. Moreover, the fractional-order sliding surface increases the design flexibility, allowing broader optimization of controller parameters. This work addresses finite-time fault-tolerant control for spacecraft attitude systems. Future research may investigate fixed-time fault-tolerant control approaches to further improve robustness and ensure consistent response times.
- Finite-time control,
- Actuator failure,
- Fault-tolerant control,
- Fractional-order terminal sliding mode

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References(29)

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