Three-axis spacecraft momentum management is performed for a spacecraft traveling along a trajectory, by an actuator including at least one thruster disposed on a single positioning mechanism. As the spacecraft travels along the trajectory, a desired line of thrust undergoes a substantial rotation in inertial space. When the spacecraft is located at a first location on the trajectory, the single positioning mechanism orients the thruster so as to produce a first torque to manage stored momentum in at least one of a first and a second of the three inertial spacecraft axes. When the spacecraft is located at a second location on the trajectory, the single positioning mechanism orients the thruster so as to produce a second torque to manage stored momentum in at least a third of the three inertial spacecraft axes.
Spacecraft momentum management
2015-08-18
Patent
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Directed Momentum Management for Rotating Spacecraft
AIAA | 2002
|Actuator/Sensor Interaction in Spacecraft Momentum Management
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2000
|