Finite-time attitude tracking control for a rigid spacecraft using time-varying terminal sliding mode techniques

This paper investigates the finite-time attitude tracking control for a rigid spacecraft in the presence of inertia uncertainties and external disturbances. Two novel time-varying terminal sliding mode control algorithms are derived for attitude tracking control system. The proposed two control algorithms not only eliminate the reaching phase of the conventional sliding mode control but also guarantee the tracking errors converge to zero in finite time. Moreover, the singularity problem can be avoided. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design methods.