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Hubble Space Telescope Reduced-Gyro Control System

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Abstract

Following gyro failures in April 2001 and April 2003, HST Pointing Control System engineers designed reduced-gyro control laws to extend the spacecraft science mission. The Two-Gyro Science (TGS) and One-Gyro Science (OGS) control laws were designed and implemented using magnetometers, star trackers, and Fine Guidance Sensors in succession to control vehicle rate about the missing gyro axes. Both TGS and OGS have demonstrated on-orbit pointing stability less than 7 milli-arcseconds, which depends upon the guide star magnitude used by the Fine Guidance Sensor. This paper describes the design, implementation, and on-orbit performance of the HST reduced-gyro control system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lockheed Martin Corporation, Denver, CO, 80127

    Brian R. Clapp (Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer Senior Staff)

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  1. Brian R. Clapp
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Correspondence to Brian R. Clapp.

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This paper is a condensed version of papers AAS-08-277 and AAS-08-278 presented at the F. Landis Markley Astronautics Symposium, Cambridge, Maryland, June 29–July 2, 2008.

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Clapp, B.R. Hubble Space Telescope Reduced-Gyro Control System. J of Astronaut Sci 57, 419–456 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03321511

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03321511

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