Abstract: A finitetime control scheme is proposed for satellites formation flight. Firstly, the nonlinear relative dynamics equation of formation flying satellites is established. Then, the sliding manifold with global fast convergence is designed, and a finitetime control technique is also presented, to guarantee global fast stability of the closedloop system and fast convergence of the tracking errors. The theoretical proof of stability and convergence is given subsequently. Finally, formation keeping scenarios are carried out to validate the effectiveness and advantage of the finitetime control method. Simulation results show that the developed finitetime control technique has faster convergence time and better control accuracy than traditional linear and terminal sliding mode controls.

Key words: satellite formation flight, finitetime control, sliding mode control, formation keeping