Nonlinear MPC with PWM applied on a small satellite

TL;DR

This paper integrates PWM with nonlinear MPC for small satellite attitude control, enabling smoother control inputs and reducing actuator load, demonstrated through simulation results.

Contribution

It introduces a PWM-based discretization approach for NMPC in satellite control, improving actuator efficiency and control smoothness.

Findings

PWM effectively discretizes NMPC control inputs

Simulations show successful satellite detumbling and attitude control

Reduced actuator load with PWM implementation

Abstract

This paper employs Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) method to a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) for satellite attitude control and detumbling. Magnetic torquers have been used as actuators for the stabilization and attitude control of small satellites. NMPC generates the control input which is continuous and smooth. As a result, it is challenging for the on-board actuators to produce these continuous magnetic moments as a control input. Thus, PWM is applied to discretize the control input reducing the load on the actuators. Simulations are presented for detumbling and attitude control to illustrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.