Modeling and path-following control of a vector-driven stratospheric satellite

The stratospheric satellite driven by steady prevailing winds in the stratosphere must be controlled in its longitudinal excursion to keep a latitudinal orbital flight. In a reliable and high-precision control system, an available system model must come first. In this paper, we study the 6 degree-of-freedom (DOF) modeling and path-following problem of a novel stratospheric satellite which consists of a high-altitude helium balloon, a truss and two vector-motor-driven propellers. To keep a latitudinal flight orbit, an algorithm for accurate latitudinal path following is proposed based on the theories of vector field and sliding mode control. Moreover, a forward velocity controller is added to the control algorithm to maintain a constant velocity. Finally, a series of open-loop control simulations are completed to verify the effectiveness of the model in the performance of the stratospheric satellite dynamics, and path-following control simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control algorithm.