Abstract
The theory of attitude control for satellites is presented. The definition of “attitude” is followed by a description of the several disturbances and of the methods to determine the current status of rotational motion. An attitude prediction into the near future allows for active control, either in one or in three axes, either done autonomously on board or by commanding. The principles of attitude propagation and control are described, as well as the possible types of control mechanism. Comparisons between theory and practice are made and several examples are given from real missions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
The single rotation axis is an eigenvector of the direction cosine matrix A; for example, A ⋅ rx = rx, when rx is the rotation axis.
- 2.
Properties of the two GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) follow-on satellites launched in 2018. Peculiarities of this mission are the microwave and laser links between their frontends over 220 ± 50 km. This implies that both fly with a ~ − 1° pitch bias with respect to the flight direction.
- 3.
Aberration is the apparent displacement of a star due to the motion of the observer; for a satellite moving at a velocity v with respect to the fixed stars the displacement ≈ v/c sin φ, where c is the velocity of light and φ denotes the angle between motion and star direction.
- 4.
Another satellite, a comet, an asteroid or meteoroid could transitorily be identified as a star. Blinding could lead to afterglow on one or more pixels with the same result.
- 5.
Right ascension is measured along the Earth’s equator towards the east; zero point is the direction of the vernal equinox at the specified epoch. Declination is measured perpendicular to the equator and is positive towards the north.
- 6.
TerraSAR-X, TanDEM-X, and PAZ are all build like that.
References
Arbinger C, Luebke-Ossenbeck B (2006) Chapter 4.5 Lageregelung. In: Ley W, Wittmann K, Hallmann W (eds) Handbuch der Raumfahrt-technik. Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Co. KG
d’Amico S (2002) Attitude and orbital simulation in support of space mission operations: the GRACE formation flying; Master Thesis, Politecnico di Milano
Herman J, Steinhoff M (2012) Balancing, turning, saving special AOCS operations to extend the GRACE mission. In: SpaceOps conference in Stockholm (Sweden)
Larson WJ, Wertz JR (eds) (1992) Space mission analysis and design. Kluwer Academic Publishers
Schulze D, Herman J, Löw S (2012) Formation flight in low-earth-orbit at 200 m. In: SpaceOps conference in Stockholm (Sweden)
Seidelmann PK (ed) (1992) Explanatory supplement to the astronomical almanac. University Science Books, New York
Sidi MJ (1997) Spacecraft dynamics and control. Cambridge University Press
Wertz JR (ed) (1978) Spacecraft attitude determination and control. Kluwer Academic Publishers
Wiesel WE (1997) Spaceflight dynamics. The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Herman, J., Kahle, R., Spiridonova, S. (2022). Attitude Dynamics. In: Sellmaier, F., Uhlig, T., Schmidhuber, M. (eds) Spacecraft Operations. Springer Aerospace Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88593-9_14
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88593-9_14
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-88592-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-88593-9
eBook Packages: EngineeringEngineering (R0)