Based on both adaptive and sliding mode control techniques, this paper pro-
poses an integrated approach to fault detection, estimation and fault-tolerant control for
near space vehicle (NSV) attitude dynamics during re-entry phase. Firstly, the Takagi
and Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model is employed to approximate complex nonlinear NSV dy-
namics with actuator faults. Then, an adaptive fault diagnostic observer is proposed for
detecting and estimating the actuator faults. Using the on-line obtained fault informa-
tion, the fault tolerant control scheme based on the sliding mode technique is developed
to compensate for the effects of actuator fault by stabilizing the closed-loop control sys-
tem. Finally, simulation results are given to show the effectiveness and potential of the
proposed techniques when different actuator fault scenarios are tested.