Exact spacecraft detumbling and reorientation maneuvers with gimbaled thrusters and reaction wheels

Abstract

The equations of rotational motion for a spacecraft equipped with external jets and internal reaction wheels are shown to be feedback-equivalent to those of a linear system in attitude parameter space. Reorientation maneuvers are thereby formulated as linear optimal control problems with least mean square acceleration in attitude parameter space, solved in closed form and implementable either with internal or external torque commands, the choice depending on power and throttling requirements. For prior detumbling, an alternative solution with least mean square torque by angular momentum feedback is also given, that is implementable with gimbaled pairs of thrusters at constant throttle. Such a detumbling maneuver may then be followed by an acceleration-commanded rest-to-rest maneuver by means of the reaction wheels.