Journal of Technology in Aerospace Engineering

Journal of Technology in Aerospace Engineering

Satellite Attitude Control in Elliptical Perturbed Orbit Using SDRE-Based Feedback Neural Network Controller

Document Type : Research Article

Authors
Majid Bakhtiari 1
Amirhossein Panahyazdan 2
Seyed Alireza Kazemi 1
1 School of Advanced Technology, Iran University of Science and Technology, Tehran, Iran
2 School of Advanced Technology, Iran University of Science and Technology,Tehran, Iran
10.22034/jtae.2025.9.4.2
Abstract
Satellite attitude control plays a vital role in ensuring accurate orientation and maintaining system stability, directly affecting essential operations such as communication, remote sensing, and scientific observation. This paper addresses the complex challenge of attitude stabilization by incorporating the effects of orbital perturbations, particularly zonal harmonics and atmospheric drag-environmental disturbances commonly encountered in low Earth orbit (LEO) that significantly degrade control precision and navigation reliability when unaccounted for. To mitigate these issues, a novel feedback controller based on the state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) framework, implemented using a feedforward neural network, is proposed. The neural network is trained to emulate the performance of a conventional SDRE controller by accurately estimating the co-state vector, a critical element of the SDRE control formulation. This eliminates the need to repeatedly solve the Riccati equation in real time, thereby substantially reducing computational demands. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that the proposed controller reliably maintains satellite attitude stability and accuracy under highly perturbed orbital conditions. Moreover, the improved computational efficiency makes it suitable for real-time onboard implementation. Overall, the proposed method offers a significant advancement in satellite control technology by enhancing robustness, reducing computational load, and improving real-time performance, thereby supporting more reliable and efficient space mission operations in dynamic orbital environments. These results highlight the method’s strong potential to transform real-time satellite control and accelerate advancements in modern space exploration.
Keywords
Satellite Attitude Stabilization
State-dependent Riccati Equation
Modified Rodrigues Parameters
Nonlinear Control
Feedforward Neural Network
Subjects
[1] M. Navabi and P. Zarei, "Attitude nonlinear predictive control of an under-actuated spacecraft, " Journal of Space Science and Technology, vol. 14, no. 4, pp. 77-83, 2021, (in Persian), https://doi.org/10.22034/jsst.2021.1304.
[2] M. Navabi and F. Malekpour, "satellite status control using tabulation gain controller in a variable parameter system," Journal of Space Science and Technology, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 15-25, 2022, https://doi.org/10.30699/jsst.2021.244891.1309.
[3] Y. Li, D. Ye, and Z. Sun, "Robust finite time control algorithm for satellite attitude control," Aerospace Science and Technology, vol. 68, pp. 46-57, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2017.05.014.
[4] D. K. Parrish and D. B. Ridgely, "Attitude control of a satellite using the SDRE method," in Proceedings of the 1997 American Control Conference (Cat. No. 97CH36041), IEEE, 1997, pp. 942-946.
[5]Y. Yang, "Analytic LQR design for spacecraft control system based on quaternion model," Journal of Aerospace Engineering, vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 448-453, 2012, https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000142.
[6] K. Lu and Y. Xia, "Adaptive attitude tracking control for rigid spacecraft with finite-time convergence," Automatica, vol. 49, no. 12, pp. 3591–3599, 2013, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.automatica.2013.09.001.
[7] J. Gao and Y. Cai, "Fixed-time control for spacecraft attitude tracking based on quaternion," Acta Astronautica, vol. 115, pp. 303-313, 2015, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2015.05.014.
[8] A. Golzari, H. N. Pishkenari, H. Salarieh, and T. Abdollahi, "Quaternion-based linear time-varying model predictive attitude control for satellites with two reaction wheels," Aerospace Science and Technology, vol. 98, 2020, Art. no. 105677, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2019.105677.
[9] S. Zarei, M. Bakhtiari, and K. Daneshjou, "Relative attitude tracking of two satellites in the presence of third-body perturbation and considering actuator saturation," Journal of the Brazilian Society of Mechanical Sciences and Engineering, vol. 43, no. 12, 2021, Art. no. 545, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-021-03267-z.
[10] M. Chiniforoushan, M. Mortazavi, and K. Raissi, "Model-free predictive fault-tolerant control for spacecraft roto-translational relative motion," Journal of Space Science and Technology, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 77-92, 2021, (in Persian), https://doi.org/10.22034/jsst.2021.1239.
[11] M. Bakhtiari, K. Daneshjou, and M. Fakoor, "Relative hovering analysis about an elliptical perturbed orbit with consideration of dynamic air drag and oblate Earth," Aerospace Science and Technology, vol. 70, pp. 286-299, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ast.2017.07.034.
[12] M. Bakhtiari, A. Panahyazdan, and E. Abbasali, "Finite-time control for satellite formation reconfiguration and maintenance in LEO: A nonlinear Lyapunov-based SDDRE approach," Aerospace, vol. 12, no. 3, 2025, Art. no. 201, https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace12030201.
[13] M. Navabi and M. R. Hosseini, "Investigation into the effect of kinematic of the spacecraft attitude control using feedback linearization method," Journal of Space Science and Technology, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 59-71, 2018, (in Persian),  https://dor.isc.ac/dor/20.1001.1.20084560.1397.11.1.6.2.
[14] J. Z. Chen, J. P. Yuan, and Q. Fang, "Attitude estimation using modified Rodrigues parameters and UKF," Yuhang Xuebao / Journal of Astronautics, NASA, 2008, pp. 1622–1626.
[15] A. Tewari, Atmospheric and Space Flight Dynamics, Springer, 2007.
[16] M. J. Sidi, Spacecraft Dynamics and Control: A Practical Engineering Approach, 7th ed. Cambridge University Press, 1997.
[17] S. Rafee Nekoo, "Tutorial and review on the state-dependent Riccati equation," Journal of Applied Nonlinear Dynamics, vol. 8, pp. 109-166, 2019, https://doi.org/10.5890/JAND.2019.06.001.
[18] N. Alsadi, S. A. Gadsden, and J. Yawney, "Intelligent estimation: A review of theory, applications, and recent advances," Digital Signal Processing: A Review Journal, vol. 135, 2023, Art. no. 103966, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsp.2023.103966.
[19] I. Shafi, S. Ansari, S. Din, G. Jeon, and A. Paul, "Artificial neural networks as clinical decision support systems," Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience, vol. 33, no. 22, 2021, Art. no. e6342, https://doi.org/10.1002/cpe.6342.
 

  • Receive Date 10 March 2025
  • Revise Date 04 May 2025
  • Accept Date 07 May 2025
  • First Publish Date 07 May 2025