Optimization of Scientific Equipment Pointing at Survey Targets in the Uragan Experiment On Board the ISS

Abstract

The aim of the Uragan space experiment on board the International Space Station (ISS) is to adjust the scientific equipment and improve the methods for monitoring various objects and phenomena on the Earth. Part of this scientific equipment is already operated on board the station, and the other part is planned to be delivered in the orbit soon. In contrast to the Russian orbital stations Salyut and Mir, the ISS was not designed for pointing the installed equipment at the survey targets, because the gyrodines used on the American segment for the ISS attitude control had a too small kinematic momentum. For this reason, special methods and devices had to be developed for pointing the Uragan scientific equipment at the survey targets. This paper considers the methods for pointing the scientific equipment, which would optimize the research program of the Uragan experiment on board the ISS.