Suspended Phased Oscillators for Attitude Control

A method comprising:

• adjusting a moment of inertia of an object by translating a first mass relative to the object and along an inertial path, wherein the first mass is movably mounted to the object, and wherein the inertial path comprises a first component that is perpendicular to a rotational axis of the object;
• applying to the object a first torque in a first direction along the rotational axis while the moment of inertia is adjusted above a threshold value by translating a second mass relative to the object and along a torque path, wherein the second mass is movably mounted to the object, and wherein the torque path comprises a second component that is perpendicular to the rotational axis and the first component;
• and
• applying to the object a second torque in a second direction along the rotational axis while the moment of inertia is adjusted below the threshold value by translating the second mass relative to the object and along the torque path.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon program instructions that, upon execution by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations comprising:

• adjusting a moment of inertia of an object by causing a first mass to translate relative to the object and along an inertial path, wherein the first mass is movably mounted to the object, and wherein the inertial path comprises a first component that is perpendicular to a rotational axis of the object;
• applying to the object a first torque in a first direction along the rotational axis while the moment of inertia is adjusted above a threshold value by causing a second mass to translate relative to the object and along a torque path, wherein the second mass is movably mounted to the object, and wherein the torque path comprises a second component that is perpendicular to the rotational axis and the first component;
• and
• applying to the object a second torque in a second direction along the rotational axis while the moment of inertia is adjusted below the threshold value by causing the second mass to translate relative to the object and along the torque path.