Survey of Technology Developments in Flywheel Attitude Control and Energy Storage Systems

Abstract

Advances in microprocessors and composite materials in the past decade, along with limitations of chemical batteries for U.S. Air Force mission concepts, have caused a renewed interest in flywheel energy storage systems for space applications. This interest has also been driven in the past by the promise of using flywheel systems for energy storage and as attitude control actuators. The primary issues are power efficiency, mass and size, and long-term stability. Flywheels as one-to-one replacements for spacecraft batteries are competitive for only a few special missions. When flywheels replace components in two major bus subsystems, the potential mass and volume benefits are attractive. This especially benefits future small satellite missions that seek agile slewing with high peak power. The objective of this paper is to describe the progression of the flywheel technology state of the art for combined energy storage and attitude control systems in space applications and the current energy storage and attitude control systems efforts.