%B European Control Conference %K Aerospace, predictive control for nonlinear systems, hybrid systems %T A Hybrid Model Predictive Control Approach to Attitude Control with Minimum-Impulse-Bit Thrusters %X This paper studies an important aspect of attitude control for a launcher's upper stage: the minimum impulse bit (MIB), that is, the minimum torque that can be exerted by the thrusters. We model this effect using principles of hybrid systems theory and we design a hybrid model predictive control scheme for the attitude control of a launcher during its long coasting period, aiming at minimizing the number of thrusters' actuations. We apply the proposed methodology to a nonlinear model of a typical upper stage with multi-payload capability. %I IEEE %L eprints2674 %A Pantelis Sopasakis %A Daniele Bernardini %A Hans Strauch %A Samir Bennani %A Alberto Bemporad %D 2016 %C Linz, Austria