Abstract:Rendezvous control of spacecraft formation based on cyclic pursuit algorithm is researched. The mathematical model of cyclic pursuit algorithm was established and deduced, and a new control law for spacecraft formation rendezvous was proposed, in which planar cyclic pursuit algorithm and normal proportional derivative method were combined. A rendezvous control for a formation by three spacecrafts adopting linear and nonlinear cyclic pursuit algorithm respectively is simulated. Simulation results show that, the proposed control law based on cyclic pursuit can meet the rendezvous requirement of spacecraft, spacecrafts rendezvous at the reference center determined by their initial position along clockwise trajectories, changing process of relative distance and relative velocity between them is consistent, and consumption of velocity gain is lesser. All this can provide theoretical reference for research of formation control for spacecrafts.