Distributed Economic Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Cooperative Attitude Maneuvers in Multiagent Spacecraft Formation Flying

In this paper, a distributed economic nonlinear model predictive control (DENMPC) is proposed to decrease the energy consumption in attitude cooperative control of spacecraft formation flying. Unlike traditional state-based control methods, which rely on current states, the proposed DENMPC leverages the spacecraft formation flying dynamics model to incorporate forward-looking capabilities, enabling more precise cooperative control. Additionally, compared to centralized control schemes, DENMPC reduces computational complexity within the leader–follower framework, making it better suited for large-scale spacecraft formations. By constructing a fuel optimization objective function to express the characteristics of energy consumption in attitude maneuvers, the neighboring follower spacecraft information is incorporated as pseudodecision variables. The DENMPC achieves an energy-efficient cooperative attitude maneuver while improving the consistency of attitude coordination among spacecraft agents. Numerical simulations demonstrate that DENMPC reduces fuel consumption by 58% for leader spacecraft and 65% for followers, outperforming proportional derivative (PD) control, sliding mode control, and distributed model predictive control in fuel efficiency and spacecraft formation coordination.