Method and device for controlling satellite attitude and steering using a gyrodyne cluster
First Claim
1. A method of controlling the attitude of a satellite having a cluster of at least four gyroscopic actuators with respective spinners mounted on gimbals steerable about axes parallel to one or the other of only two different directions that are fixed relative to the satellite so as to form at least two groups of actuators of which one group has at least two actuators, the method comprising the steps of:
- measuring the attitude of said satellite by means of sensors on board said satellite;
calculating a control torque required to perform an attitude-changing maneuver;
calculating local linearization based on pseudo-inversion of the Jacobean matrix of the function associating the orientations of said actuator gimbals with the total angular momentum of said cluster in order to determine new orientations for said gimbals; and
commanding precession speeds of at least one of said actuator gimbals so as to deliver said control torque for achieving the desired configuration;
wherein the step of determining said new orientations is performed by applying a constraint of seeking a cluster configuration remote from singular configurations by sharing between said two groups of actuators that component of said total angular momentum of said cluster which is perpendicular to both of said two directions.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In order to control the attitude of a satellite having at least four gyroscopic actuators with respective spinners mounted on gimbals steerable about axes parallel to one or the other of only two different directions that are fixed relative to the satellite, the attitude of the satellite is measured using sensors on board the satellite, the control torque required to perform an attitude-changing maneuver is calculated, local linearization calculation is performed based on pseudo-inversion of the Jacobean matrix of the function associating the orientations of the actuator gimbals with the total angular momentum of the cluster in order to determine a new gimbal orientation, and precession speeds of at least one of the gimbals of the actuators are controlled to deliver the control torque for reaching the desired configuration.
26 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method of controlling the attitude of a satellite having a cluster of at least four gyroscopic actuators with respective spinners mounted on gimbals steerable about axes parallel to one or the other of only two different directions that are fixed relative to the satellite so as to form at least two groups of actuators of which one group has at least two actuators, the method comprising the steps of:
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measuring the attitude of said satellite by means of sensors on board said satellite; calculating a control torque required to perform an attitude-changing maneuver; calculating local linearization based on pseudo-inversion of the Jacobean matrix of the function associating the orientations of said actuator gimbals with the total angular momentum of said cluster in order to determine new orientations for said gimbals; and commanding precession speeds of at least one of said actuator gimbals so as to deliver said control torque for achieving the desired configuration; wherein the step of determining said new orientations is performed by applying a constraint of seeking a cluster configuration remote from singular configurations by sharing between said two groups of actuators that component of said total angular momentum of said cluster which is perpendicular to both of said two directions. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification