Control moment gyroscopes including torsionally-stiff spoked rotors and methods for the manufacture thereof

A control moment gyroscope (CMG), comprising:

• a stator housing;
• an inner gimbal assembly (IGA), comprising:
• an IGA support structure rotatably coupled to the stator housing;
• a CMG rotor rotatably mounted to the IGA support structure for rotation about a spin axis, the CMG rotor comprising:
• a rotor shaft;
• a rotor rim;
• and
• a plurality of torsionally-stiff radial spokes joining the rotor shaft to the rotor rim, each of the plurality of torsionally-stiff radial spokes increasing gradually in axial height when moving radially inward toward the spin axis;
• a spin motor coupled to the IGA support structure and configured to rotate the monolithic CMG rotor about the spin axis;
• and
• a torque motor coupled to the stator housing and configured to rotate the IGA support structure housing about a gimbal axis to selectively generate a desired output torque during operation of the CMG.

A method for manufacturing a control moment gyroscope (CMG), the method comprising:

• producing a one piece rotor preform;
• machining the one piece rotor preform to define a monolithic CMG rotor;
• installing the monolithic CMG rotor within an inner gimbal assembly (IGA) including an IGA support structure and a spin motor configured to rotate the monolithic CMG rotor relative to the IGA support structure about a spin axis;
• and
• mounting the IGA to a stator assembly including a stator assembly housing and a torque motor configured to selectively rotate the IGA about a gimbal axis to selectively generate a desired output torque during operation of the CMG.