Modern Control System Learning

Abstract

This manuscript will explore and analyze the effects of different controllers in an overall spacecraft’s attitude determination and control system (ADCS). The experimental setup will include comparing an ideal nonlinear feedforward controller, a feedback controller, and a combined ideal nonlinear feedforward + feedback controller within a Simulink simulation. A custom proportional, derivative, integral controller was implemented in the feedback control, adding an additional term to account for the nonlinear coupled motion. Consistent proportional, derivative, and integral gains were used throughout the duration of the experiment. The simulated results will show that the ideal nonlinear feedforward controller lacked an error correction mechanism and took extra time to execute, the feedback controller faired only slightly better, but the combined ideal nonlinear feedforward controller with feedback correction yielded the highest accuracy with the lowest execution time. This highlights the potential effectiveness for a learning control system.