System and method for vehicle attitude control

• US 9,551,994 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2015
• Issued: 01/24/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Original Assignee: The Boeing Co.
• Inventors: Becker, Gregory S., Chen, Shanshin, Hammons, Erin M., Nakasone, Dennis Y.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sanderson, Joseph W
• Application Number:
  US14/739,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20160363937A1
• Time in Patent Office: 589 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64G 1/244 Spacecraft control systems
• CPC Class Codes: B64G 1/283 using reaction wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B64G 1/285 using momentum wheels

Abstract

A dual stage vehicle attitude control system includes a first attitude control module having at least two momentum wheels arranged to provide zero momentum vehicle attitude control, each momentum wheel comprises a limited travel two axis gimbal that pivots the momentum wheel along two of the three axes of the vehicle, a second attitude control module having reaction wheels arranged in a pyramid configuration to provide vehicle attitude control along at least one control axis that is common with a control axis of the at least two momentum wheels, and a controller connected to the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module, the controller being configured to coordinate actuation of the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module to rotate the vehicle in at least one of three axes of a vehicle.

Claims

1. A dual stage vehicle attitude control system comprising:

a first attitude control module having at least two momentum wheels arranged to provide zero momentum vehicle attitude control, each momentum wheel comprises a limited travel two axis gimbal that pivots the momentum wheel along two of three axes of the vehicle;

a second attitude control module having reaction wheels arranged in a pyramid configuration to provide vehicle attitude control along at least one control axis that is common with a control axis of the at least two momentum wheels; and

a controller connected to the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module, the controller being configured to coordinate actuation of the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module to rotate the vehicle in at least one of three axes of a vehicle.

2. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to actuate the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module in combination.

3. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to actuate the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module independently.

4. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to actuate the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module in a predetermined sequence.

5. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 1, wherein the at least two momentum wheels are arranged to provide zero momentum vehicle attitude control along at least two of three axes of the vehicle.

6. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 1, wherein the limited travel two axis gimbal comprises at least two actuators, a momentum wheel platform and a base, each momentum wheel being mounted to the momentum wheel platform and the at least two actuators provide for relative movement between the momentum wheel platform and the base, the travel of the limited travel gimbal being limited by one or more of an amount of travel of the at least two actuators and limiting structure of the base.

7. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 6, wherein the at least two actuators are sized to provide a torque level substantially equal to the cross product of an angular velocity vector of the limited travel two axis gimbal and an angular momentum vector of each momentum wheel.

8. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 1, wherein an angular momentum vector of each of the at least two momentum wheels is arranged along a common axis of the vehicle, and the pyramid configuration is oriented with the reaction wheels tipped toward the common axis of the vehicle.

9. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 1, wherein the at least one control axis that is common with the control axis of the at least two momentum wheels is a scan axis of the vehicle.

10. A method for controlling an attitude of a vehicle, the method comprising:

controlling actuation of a first attitude control module and a second attitude control module to rotate the vehicle in at least one of three axes of the vehicle, where controlling actuation of the first attitude control module includes pivoting each momentum wheel along two of the three axes of the vehicle with a limited travel two axis gimbal; and

wherein the first attitude control module is a momentum wheel module providing zero momentum vehicle attitude control at a first level of agility and the second attitude control module is a pyramidal reaction wheel module providing vehicle attitude control along at least one control axis that is common with a control axis of the momentum wheel module at a second level of agility, where the first level of agility is greater than the second level of agility.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the actuation of the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module is hierarchically coordinated depending on a predetermined rate of angular acceleration needed to orient the vehicle.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module are controlled in combination.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module are controlled independently.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module are controlled in a predetermined sequence.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein an angular momentum vector of each momentum wheel in the momentum wheel module is arranged along a scan axis of the vehicle, and each reaction wheel of the pyramidal reaction wheel module is tipped toward the scan of the vehicle.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein controlling actuation of the first attitude control module and second attitude control module effects a first level of angular acceleration to move the vehicle between points within a first angular field of regard and effects a second level of angular acceleration to orient the vehicle to a second angular field of regard different from the first angular field of regard, where the second level of angular acceleration is less than the first level of angular acceleration.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the second level of angular acceleration provides up to three axis movement of the vehicle and the first level of angular acceleration provides two axis movement of the vehicle.

18. A dual stage vehicle attitude control system comprising:

a first attitude control module having at least two momentum wheels arranged to provide zero momentum vehicle attitude control, each momentum wheel comprises a limited travel two axis gimbal that pivots the momentum wheel along two of three axes of the vehicle;

a second attitude control module having reaction wheels arranged in a pyramid configuration to provide vehicle attitude control along at least one control axis that is common with a control axis of the at least two momentum wheels; and

a controller connected to the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module, the controller being configured to coordinate actuation of the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module to rotate the vehicle in at least one of three axes of a vehicle so the at least two momentum wheels provide zero momentum steering augmentation to the reaction wheels.

19. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 18, wherein the controller is configured to actuate the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module in combination.

20. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 18, wherein the controller is configured to actuate the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module independently.

21. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 18, wherein the controller is configured to actuate the first attitude control module and the second attitude control module in a predetermined sequence.

22. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 18, wherein the limited travel two axis gimbal comprises at least two actuators, a momentum wheel platform and a base, the momentum wheel being mounted to the momentum wheel platform and the at least two actuators provide for relative movement between the momentum wheel platform and the base, the travel of the limited travel gimbal being limited by one or more of an amount of travel provided by the at least two actuators and limiting structure of the base.

23. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 22, wherein the at least two actuators are sized to provide a torque level substantially equal to the cross product of an angular velocity vector of the limited travel two axis gimbal and an angular momentum vector of the momentum wheel.

24. The dual stage vehicle attitude control system of claim 18, wherein an angular momentum vector of each of the momentum wheels is arranged along a scan axis of the vehicle, and the pyramid configuration is oriented with the reaction wheels tipped toward the scan axis of the vehicle.