Decentralised fault‐tolerant control of tethered spacecraft formation: an interconnected system approach

In this study, a novel control strategy of a three‐inline array tethered spacecraft formation is proposed, based on a simplified non‐linear model around the equilibrium point. The formation stability is analysed by using an interconnected system approach which deeply reveals the coupling characteristic among three spacecraft. It is shown that both individual control laws of spacecraft and the coupling effects can achieve the stability. The problems of fault‐tolerant control and fault propagation are further discussed. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.