In this paper, we investigate the constrained attitude control problem of hypersonic vehicles (HVs). An improved prescribed performance dynamic surface control method is proposed based on an adaptive scaling strategy. Because of the uncertain time-varying disturbances, the controlled state may violate the constraint in the prescribed performance control (PPC) framework. An adaptive scaling strategy is introduced in the PPC method to avoid state violation. The performance function is scaled with respect to the state adaptively. Moreover, a nonlinear disturbance observer is used to compensate the sum of external and other internal disturbances of the system. The proposed method improves the system dynamic performance while ensuring the system robustness. Furthermore, the stability of the closed-loop system is proved by Lyapunov analysis. Finally, numerical simulations are implemented to verify the effectiveness of the PPC method and superiority over other methods.
