Coordination Control of Distributed Spacecraft System

Spacecraft formation flying has received significant attention over the past decade, it has been a topic of interest because of its unique technical advantages and good application features. Several small, unconnected satellites operating in a coordinated way may achieve a better performance than a monolithic satellite, and possess advantages such as increased instrument resolution, reduced cost, reconfigurability, and overall system robustness, which can in turn enhance the scientific return (Zhang et al., 2008).Several ambitious distributed spacecraft missions are currently being put in operation or planned. The PRISMA satellite, which is an on-orbit technology demonstrator for autonomous formation flying and rendezvous, was launched on 15 June 2010 (Ardaens et al., 2011). The TanDEM-X satellite was launched on 21 June 2010 and orbited in close formation with the TerraSAR–X satellite on 15 October 2010. The twin satellites began a routine acquisition of the digital elevation model with flexible baselines on 12 December 2010 (Kahle et al., 2011). The F6 program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Terrestrial Planet Finder of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Darwin mission of the European Space Agency will all utilize the technology of formation flying.