On the stabilization of a communication satellite without measuring its angular velocity

Abstract

The motion control about the center of mass of the communication satellite Yamal-200 is considered. Due to possible failure of the angular velocity sensors, an algorithm for maintaining a prescribed attitude without measuring the angular velocity was developed for this satellite. The algorithm ensures the gyroscopic stabilization of the satellite motion about the local vertical. In the course of control, the onboard computer stores projections of the flywheels' angular momentum vector on the axes of the inertial basis; the control system tries to preserve the angular momentum magnitude and direction in the inertial space based on the measurements of the angular momentum. The workability of the proposed stabilization algorithm was confirmed by flight tests.