The development of a solar pressure control system for three-axis attitude control of Earth-oriented spacecraft is presented. A controller configuration consisting of two rotatable mirrorlike surfaces, representing the minimum hardware implementation, is considered. Optimal control theory is applied to synthesize a feedback control law directly governing the differential rotation of the control surfaces. The system performance is evaluated through the response analysis of a satellite subject to destabilizing gravity gradient torques as well as external disturbances. Even under such adverse conditions, the results indicate a moderately sized controller to be quite effective in maintaining the desired Earth-pointing spacecraft orientation. The validity of the optimal control law is established for all times of the year, and the feasibility of implementing suboptimal control policies is also examined.


    Access

    Check access

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Solar Pressure Attitude Stabilization of Earth-Pointing Spacecraft


    Contributors:

    Published in:

    Publication date :

    1981-11-01


    Size :

    1877229 byte




    Type of media :

    Article (Journal)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English