Optimal feedback slewing of flexible spacecraft

Abstract

A method is presented for maneuvering a flexible spacecraft from one position to another while leaving an arbitrary number of bending modes inactive at the end of the maneuver. The method combines standard fixedtime linear quadratic Gaussian regulator control theory with a modal decomposition of a flexible body. Further features of the method are that it uses minimum control effort and it can be converted to a feedback form to deal with random disturbances and parameter uncertainties. Several examples are given to demonstrate the efficacy of the method, and results from a hardware experiment are presented.