A novel adaptive consensus protocol for multi-spacecraft cooperative tracking control on highly elliptical orbit

This paper investigates the cooperative tracking control problem of Electromagnetic Formation Spacecraft (EMFS) on elliptical orbit. The actuator saturation and topology switching problems exist in formation cooperative tracking control. The proposed novel adaptive consensus protocol addresses this problem by utilizing both synchronous and asynchronous topology switching. Firstly, to enhance the robustness of the system and minimize the impact of time-varying parameters on the control algorithm, the controller gain is determined through solving the Adaptive Riccati Differential Equation (ARDE). Secondly, a three-layer network communication structure with mirror nodes is constructed, in which different control input saturation levels are designed according to the correlation with the leader. Then, the Average Dwell Time (ADT) switching technique is utilized to generate the control switching signal, ensuring that the topology maintains a directed spanning tree when the switching signal condition is satisfied. Finally, simulation results validate the theoretical findings and provide a comparison with other methods, demonstrating the superiority of the proposed approach.