Attitude Control of Microsatellite Using PWM Method: Verification Using PIL

Abstract

The missions of micro-satellites range from early military usages to weather forecast, resources exploration, communication, and scientific experiment. The advantages of micro-satellites are simple mechanical structures, great reliability, low prices, and precise researchers and equipment. Therefore, due to the limits of weight and power, this kind of micro-satellite with low design cost and high precision requires reducing unnecessary attitude sensors and controllers to ensure the precision of attitude control. Besides, it adapts the least hardware constituting attitude system, which is the future trend in the satellite engineering. In this article, an estimating technology about measuring angle speed with a gyro less is mentioned. This technology is based on the period change which the earth magnetic field gets along the track. Only by using a three axis magnetometer, it can produce the data from the micro-satellite measuring the earth magnetic field. Besides, the measures of three axis angle speed and attitude angle can be gotten through Kalman filtering. The purpose of this article is mainly to explore the problem on attitude detumbling control of micro-satellites departing away a carrier to enter a track. It is realized by a thruster to proceed the confinement of the satellite moving, the attitude stable control and processor-in-the-loop.