Abstract: This article proposes a feasible cooperative control framework and strategy based on information consensus for the configuration initialization, maintenance and entire-formation maneuver of satellite formations. First, a reference point of the total formation system is estimated using the first order consensus algorithm according to the initial state of each satellite. Second, by employing the convex optimization technique, the desired reconfiguration paths are obtained based upon the model predictive function of the entire-formation system. Finally, a cooperative control law is designed based on the second order consensus algorithm which induces each satellite to track coordinately the desired path and reference information of the entire-formation maneuver. In addition, system stabilization is analyzed and realized. Simulation results demonstrate that the control strategy can implement the mentioned formation maneuver if the formation information topology contains a rooted directed spanning tree during the reference point consensus estimation; then each satellite trajectory deviation, caused by initial errors and J₂ gravitational perturbation, can be eliminated effectively by the feedback cooperative control law, which demonstrates the fine fault-tolerant properties of the control strategy. A comparison of the strategy with the traditional method shows preliminarily that the proposed entire-formation system optimization strategy may reduce further fuel consumption, and that it can ensure approximately the same fuel consumption for the individual satellites within the formation.

Key words: satellites, formation configuration, entire-formation maneuver, path planning, cooperative control, consensus algorithm, information topology