Abstract
Heretofore, satellites requiring precision attitude control have been equipped with momentum wheels and gas jets. This combination can be replaced by a commandable gravitygradient boom and considerably smaller wheels. Each of the two boom gimbal axes is equipped with a torquer and a shaft encoder. Satellite attitude control is maintained using an active attitude reference and torquing against the inertia of the boom. Gravity-gradient torques keep the boom anchored in the gravity field and small momentum wheels damp the boom librations. Yaw axis momentum control utilizes the orbital coupling of the roll/ yaw axes. Results of linear analyses, computer simulations, and some hardware tests exemplify the performance of this Commandable Gravity-Gradient System (COGGS) and demonstrate its feasibility. The system can be expected to statically point to any spot on the earth to within dbO.l0 and to track low-altitude satellites to within ±0.5°.
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