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US 2010/0059631 A1Published application
Unified attitude control for spacecraft transfer orbit operations
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsH. Grant Wang, Rongsheng Li
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of controlling attitude of a spacecraft during a transfer orbit operation is provided. The method includes providing a slow spin rate, determining the attitude of the spacecraft using a unified sensor set, and controlling the attitude of the spacecraft using a unified control law. The use of a unified set of sensors and a unified control law reduces spacecraft complexity, cost, and weight.
Claims14
A method of controlling attitude of a spacecraft during a transfer orbit coasting operation, comprising:
- designating a spin axis in spacecraft body coordinates;
- providing a spin rate for the spacecraft;
- determining the attitude of the spacecraft using star trackers as a sole source of attitude sensor data;
- selecting a steering law for a desired steering attitude;
- and
- controlling the spacecraft to the desired steering attitude using a unified control law.
3 more elements
A method of controlling attitude of a spacecraft during a transfer orbit coasting operation, comprising:
- designating a spin axis in spacecraft body coordinates;
- placing reaction wheels relative to the designated spin axis;
- determining a total momentum vector of the spacecraft;
- and
- aligning the designated spacecraft spin axis to the total momentum vector using a 3-axis stabilized control law.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.