The Olympus spacecraft was recovered from a major anomaly that occurred at the end of May 1991. As a result of this anomaly, the spacecraft went into a totally uncontrolled mode, drifting away from its geostationary location (19 deg west) with a rate of about 56 degrees east per day, due to unwanted thruster firings which took place during the anomaly, and spinning about its X axis with a period of about 90 seconds. Since the solar arrays were no longer orientated to the Sun, the power dropped rapidly, emptying the batteries and freezing the spacecraft, including its propellant. Although initially very little hope was given for recovery of the spacecraft, nevertheless a successful recovery could be achieved during a concentrated activity. The attitude dynamics aspects of the Olympus spacecraft during the recovery activities are described.
Olympus Recovery: Attitude Aspects
1991
9 pages
Report
No indication
English
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