The　purpose　of　this　paper　is　to　introduce　a　recursive　terminal　sliding　mode　for　designing　a　fault　tolerant　control　system　for　space　robots　with　bias　faults　and　loss-of-effectiveness　faults.　With　the　application　of　the　space　robots　on　the　space　station,　the　fault　tolerant　control　is　necessary　to　deal　with　the　inevitable　faults　of　the　actuator　of　the　space　robots.　To　settle　the　problem,　first　the　dynamic　equation　of　the　space　robot　with　both　faults　was　derived　using　Lagrange　equation.　Next,　in　order　to　estimate　the　lump　uncertainty　of　external　disturbances,　dynamic　uncertainties　and　faults　of　the　space　robots,　an　observer　is　used,　and　further　more　a　recursive　terminal　sliding　mode　controller　is　designed　to　realize　active　fault　tolerant　control　for　the　system,　and　the　convergence　time　can　be　adjusted　by　the　coefficients　of　the　controller.　Finally,　the　simulation　results　verify　that　the　proposed　scheme　is　able　to　realize　the　fault　tolerant　control　with　less　convergence　time,　smaller　error　and　excellent　fault　tolerant　control　ability.　©　VDE　VERLAG　GMBH　Berlin　Offenbach.