Abstract
Study results for developing dynamic models and attitude control systems of solar sail spacecraft are presented. The overall study objective was to advance sailcraft attitude control technology so that a sail spaceflight experiment for validating sail attitude stability & controllability and thrust vector pointing & steering performance can be conducted within the next 5 years. In particular, this paper (Part I) presents an overview of sailcraft attitude control issues, with special emphasis on a simple spin stabilization concept for countering the significant effect of a solar pressure disturbance torque, caused by an uncertain center-of-mass and center-of-pressure offset, on sailcraft stability and pointing. A sailcraft controlled by means of translating and/or tilting sail panels is also described in this paper. Detailed dynamic modeling and attitude control design for a sailcraft employing a two-axis gimbaled control boom and/or control vanes are presented in Part II.
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