Stabilization of a Reentry Vehicle by a Partial Spin-up during Uncontrolled Descent

Stabilization of a reentry vehicle (RV) by a partial spin-up of it is considered for the case of uncontrolled descent into the atmosphere. In this case, the vehicle is a composite construction consisting of two rigid bodies, a return capsule and a stabilizing block, which is put in rotation. A model is developed for the spatial motion of the reentry vehicle considered as a system of coaxial rigid bodies rotating about a common axis of symmetry. The free motion is studied, and the stability of steady-state regimes is analyzed. The spatial motion of the system is considered for the case of a small asymmetry due to displacement of the axes of dynamic symmetry of the bodies with respect to the spin axis, and approximate solutions for the motion parameters of the free system are found.     

The motion of a synchronous satellite in a system similar to the earth-moon system

The stationary motions of a synchronous axisymmetric satellite are studied in the field of attraction by the Earth and a third body whose parameters are close to those of the Moon. Equations of motion are written in canonical variables that take into account the resonance character of the problem. The plots characterizing the dependence of the rotation parameters of the satellite relative to the center of mass on the elements of satellite’s translational motion are presented. A picture is given that represents the initial configuration of the system for implementing stationary motions.     

Specific features of motion of geosynchronous satellites in the neighborhood of unstable stationary points

A study of peculiarities of the motion of equatorial circular geosynchronous satellites is performed in the neighborhoods of unstable stationary points with longitudes of 165° and 345°. The maps of initial conditions are constructed on the phase plane “longitude of subsatellite point-semi-major axis of orbit” corresponding to various types of regular motions and to quasi-random solutions. The dimensions of zones of the quasi-random solutions are within the limits from decimal fractions of a degree to a few degrees (in longitude) and from hundreds of meters up to several kilometers (along the semi-major axis).     

Dynamics of the orbital cable system

The Orbital Cable System (OCS) consists of a vehicle with an engine, a long connecting cable (string) and a satellite probe for low altitude geophysical explorations. The vehicle orbits the Earth at an altitude of 200–250 km and tows a probe at an altitude of 100–150 km. The air drag is compensated by the vehicle engine thrust. In the OCS dynamics study the cable weight, elasticity and air drag are taken into account. The OCS stationary motions are found, and stability of these motions is investigated. The OCS periodical motions that are close to the stationary motions are found. Simple ways of the OCS deployment in orbit are described.     

Application of a magnetohydrodynamic element in the control loop of a rotating spacecraft with a spike antenna

The problem of stabilization of a rotating spacecraft with a flexible spike antenna located along the axis of spacecraft rotation is considered. A magnetohydrodynamic element is used as a final-control element in the control loop of spacecraft attitude, and the solar direction sensor serves as a measuring device. At the first stage of investigation, the problem of stability is considered for stationary and non-stationary modes of rotation of the spacecraft with a flexible antenna and with a cavity partially filled with a low-viscosity liquid.     

On dynamics of a plasma ring rotating in the magnetic field of a central body: Magneto-gyroscopic waves. Problems of stability and quantization

Based on a mathematical model described in [1], some new aspects of the dynamics of a thin planar plasma ring rotating in the magnetic field of a central body are considered. The dipole field is considered assuming that the dipole has a small eccentricity, and the dipole axis is inclined at a small angle to the central body’s axis of rotation. Emphasis is placed on the problem of stability of the ring’s stationary rotation. Unlike [1], the disturbed motion is considered which has a character of eddy magneto-gyroscopic waves. The original mathematical model is reduced to a system of finite-difference equations whose asymptotic analytical solution is obtained. It is demonstrated that some “elite” rings characterized by integral quantum numbers are long-living, while “lethal” or unstable rings (antirings) are associated with half-integer quantum numbers. As a result, an evolutionally rife rotating ring of magnetized plasma turns out to be stratified into a large number of narrow elite rings separated by gaps whose positions correspond to antirings. The regions of possible existence of elite rings in near-central body space are considered. Quantum numbers determining elite eigenvalues of the mean sector velocity (normalized in a certain manner) of a ring coincide with the quantum numbers appearing in the solution to the Schrödinger equation for a hydrogen atom. Perturbations of elite orbits corresponding to these quantum numbers satisfy the de Brogli quantum-mechanical condition. This is one more illustration of the isomorphism of quantization in microcosm and macrocosm.     

Maneuver planning of a rigid spacecraft with two skew control moment gyros

The attitude maneuver planning of a rigid spacecraft using two skew single-gimbal control moment gyros (CMGs) is investigated. First, two types of restrictions are enforced on the gimbal motions of two skew CMGs, with each restriction yielding continuous control torque along a principal axis of the spacecraft. Then, it is proved that any axis fixed to the spacecraft can be pointed along an arbitrary inertial direction by at most two sequent rotations around the two actuated axes. Given this fact, a two-step eigenaxis rotation strategy, executing by the two single-axis torques respectively, is designed to point a given body-fixed axis along a desired direction. Furthermore, a three-step eigenaxis rotation strategy is constructed to achieve an arbitrary rest-to-rest attitude maneuver. The rotation angles required for the single-axis pointing and arbitrary attitude maneuver schemes are all analytically solved. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.     

轴系回转轴线指向误差测量方法

回转轴线指向误差是扫描机构的重要性能指标之一,对遥感成像质量有明显影响。针对回转轴线无法直接精确测量的问题,提出了基于平面反射镜、电子自准直仪的测量系统。在详细分析平面反射镜法线与回转轴线间关系的基础上,对测得的镜面法线指向数据进行傅里叶级数展开,通过零次项去除和一次谐波分量误差分离处理,得到真实的回转轴线指向误差。利用该方法对某扫描轴系实物进行了测量,结果表明:该方法测得的回转轴线误差为39″,满足系统的指标要求,相对于常规处理方法在精度和准确度上有所提高。     

Equilibrium attitude and stability of a spacecraft on a stationary orbit around an asteroid

The stationary orbits around an asteroid, if exist, can be used for communication and navigation purposes just as around the Earth. The equilibrium attitude and stability of a rigid spacecraft on a stationary orbit around a uniformly-rotating asteroid are studied. The linearized equations of attitude motion are obtained under the small motion assumption. Then, the equilibrium attitude is determined in both cases of a general and a symmetrical spacecraft. Due to the higher-order inertia integrals of the spacecraft, the equilibrium attitude is slightly away from zero Euler angles. Then necessary conditions of stability of this conservative system are analyzed based on the linearized equations of motion. The effects of different parameters, including the harmonic coefficients C₂₀ and C₂₂ of the asteroid and higher-order inertia integrals of the spacecraft, on the stability are assessed and compared. Due to the significantly non-spherical shape and rapid rotation of the asteroid, the effects of the harmonic coefficients C₂₀ and C₂₂ are very significant, while effects of the third- and fourth-order inertia integrals of the spacecraft can be neglected. Considering a spacecraft on a stationary orbit around an example asteroid, we show that the classical stability domain predicted by the Beletskii–DeBra–Delp method on a circular orbit in a central gravity field is modified due to the non-spherical mass distribution of the asteroid. Our results are confirmed by a numerical simulation.     

Periodic motions of a satellite-gyrostat relative to its center of mass under the action of gravitational torque

We investigated periodic motions of the axis of symmetry of a model satellite of the Earth, which are similar to the motions of the longitudinal axes of the Mir orbital station in 1999–2001 and the Foton-M3 satellite in 2007. The motions of these spacecraft represented weakly disturbed regular Euler precession with the angular momentum vector of motion relative to the center of mass close to the orbital plane. The direction of this vector during the motion was not practically changed. The model satellite represents an axisymmetric gyrostat with gyrostatic moment directed along the axis of symmetry. The satellite moves in a circular orbit and undergoes the action of the gravitational torque. The motion of the axis of symmetry of this satellite relative to the absolute space is described by fourth-order differential equations with periodic coefficients. The periodic solutions to this system with special symmetry properties are constructed using analytical and numerical methods.     

The Effect of Dissipative Moments Caused by Liquid Body Viscosity on the Rotation Stability of a Space Object

The influence of dissipative forces in a viscous liquid that completely fills the cavities of a space object executing a rotational motion is analyzed. The Navier–Stokes equations are solved by expanding them into a series in terms of eigenfunctions of the boundary value problem on involving the resting liquid in rotation around the longitudinal axis of a cavity. The analytical solutions for coaxial cylindrical and concentric spherical cavities are obtained, in particular, for a straight circular cylinder and a sphere. The stability of the single-axis orientation of a space object filled with a viscous liquid is investigated. The dependences of rotation decay processes and drifts of the space object's longitudinal axis from a given direction are shown on the plane of constructive parameters.     

On stability of a rotating spacecraft partially filled with liquid: The case of a single cavity

The problem of stability of a rotating spacecraft with a cavity partially filled with liquid to a small depth is considered with regard to the distinction in angular velocities of spacecraft and liquid rotation and their variability (the modes of the spacecraft’s stationary rotation, spin-up, and rotation deceleration). The regions of stability (in space of the characteristic parameters of an object) are found, and mathematical simulating of the disturbed motion is carried out.     

Analysis of a double gimbaled reaction wheel spacecraft attitude stabilization system

Three axis attitude stabilization of a satellite using a single spinning reaction wheel mounted on a two degree-of-freedom passively and actively torqued gimbal system is investigated. The passive control is assumed to be provided by a spring-loaded damper mounted on each of the gimbal axes, while active control results from both the wheel acceleration and the torque applied about the gimbal axes. The stability of the uncontrolled and passively controlled systems is investigated analytically. For constant wheel speed the pitch motion is decoupled from the roll-yaw and gimbal motions. Control laws for the roll-yaw motion are developed based on pole clustering and linear optimal control theory. For the pitch motion control laws are obtained based on classical second order system theory. Estimation techniques are applied to the roll-yaw system for the case when the complete state may not be directly observable (in the absence of a fine yaw position sensor).     

A study of evolution of spin-up mode of a satellite in the plane of its orbit

We investigate the mode of spinning up a low-orbit satellite in the plane of its orbit. In this mode the satellite rotates around its principal central axis of the minimum moment of inertia which executes small oscillations with respect to the normal to the orbit plane; the angular velocity of the rotation around this axis several times exceeds the mean orbital motion. Gravitational and restoring aerodynamic moments are taken into account in the satellite’s equations of motion. A small parameter characterizing deviation of the satellite from a dynamically symmetric shape is introduced into the equations. A two-dimensional integral surface of the equations of motion, describing quasi-steady-state rotations of the satellite close to cylindrical precession of the corresponding symmetrical satellite in a gravitational field, has been studied by the method of small parameter and numerically. Such quasi-steady-state rotations are suggested to be considered as unperturbed motions of the satellite in the spin-up mode. Investigation of the integral surface is reduced to numerical solution of a periodic boundary value problem of a certain auxiliary system of differential equations and to calculation of quasi-steady-state rotations by the two-cycle method. A possibility is demonstrated to construct quasi-steady rotations by way of minimization of a special quadratic functional.     

On the stability of spinning satellites

We study the directional stability of rigid and deformable spinning satellites in terms of two attitude angles. The linearized attitude motion of a free system about an assumed uniform-spin reference solution leads to a generic MGK system when the satellite is rigid or deformable. In terms of Lyapunov’s stability theory, we investigate the stability with respect to a subset of the variables. For a rigid body, the MGK system is 6-dimensional, i.e., 3 rotational and 3 translational variables. When flexible parts are present the system can have any arbitrary dimension. The 2×2 McIntyre–Myiagi stability matrix gives sufficient conditions for the attitude stability. A further development of this method has led to the Equivalent Rigid Body method. We propose an alternative practical method to establish sufficiency conditions for directional stability by using the Frobenius–Schur reduction formula. As practical applications we discuss a spinning satellite augmented with a spring–mass system and a rigid body appended with two cables and tip masses. In practice, the attitude stability must also be investigated when the spinning satellite is subject to a constant axial thrust. The generic format becomes MGKN as the thrust is a follower force. For a perfectly aligned thrust along the spin axis, Lyapunov’s indirect method remains valid also when deformable parts are present. We illustrate this case with an apogee motor burn in the presence of slag. When the thrust is not on the spin axis or not pointing parallel to the spin axis, the uniform-spin reference motion does not exist and none of the previous methods is applicable. In this case, the linearization may be performed about the initial state. Even when the linearized system has bounded solutions, the non-linear system can be unstable in general. We illustrate this situation by an instability that actually happened in-flight during a station-keeping maneuver of ESA’s GEOS-I satellite in 1979.     

One method of gravitational attitude control of a rotating satellite

The mode of spinning up a low-orbit satellite in the plane of its orbit is studied. In this mode, the satellite rotates around its longitudinal axis (principal central axis of the minimum moment of inertia), which executes small oscillations with respect to the normal to the orbit plane; the angular velocity of the rotation around the longitudinal axis is several tenths of a degree per second. Gravitational and restoring aerodynamic moments were taken into account in the equations of satellite’s motion, as well as a dissipative moment from eddy currents induced in the shell of the satellite by the Earth’s magnetic field. A small parameter characterizing deviation of the satellite from a dynamically symmetric shape and nongravitational external moments are introduced into the equations. A two-dimensional integral surface of the equations of motion, describing quasistationary rotations of the satellite close to cylindrical precession of the corresponding symmetrical satellite in a gravitational field, has been studied by the method of small parameter and numerically. We propose to consider such quasistationary rotations as unperturbed motions of the satellite in the spin-up mode.     

The Motion of Coaxial Bodies of Varying Composition on the Active Leg of Descent

The motion of a spacecraft (SC) with double rotation and variable mass on the active leg of its descent is considered. The SC consists of two coaxial bodies. The coaxial scheme is used for gyroscopic stabilization of the SC longitudinal axis by the method of partial spin-up. The equations of spatial motion of coaxial bodies of varying composition are derived and approximate solutions for the angles of spatial orientation are found. The condition of decreasing amplitude of nutation oscillations is obtained, which allows the estimation of efficiency of the stabilization by partial spin-up. The errors in the magnitude and direction of the vector of braking thrust are also determined.__________Translated from Kosmicheskie Issledovaniya, Vol. 43, No. 3, 2005, pp. 224–232.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Aslanov, Doroshin, Kruglov.     

Evolution of motion of two viscoelastic planets in the field of forces of their mutual attraction

Translational-rotational motion of two viscoelastic planets in a gravitational force field is studied. The planets are modeled by homogeneous isotropic viscoelastic bodies. In their natural undeformed state each of the planets represents a sphere. We investigate a specific case when the planet’s centers of mass move in a fixed plane, the axis of rotation for each planet being directed along the normal to this plane. An equation describing the evolution of a slow angular variable (perihelion longitude) is derived. The observed displacement of the perihelion of Mercury is compared with the results obtained in the considered model problem about motion of two viscoelastic planets. Quite important is the fact that the planet of smaller mass (Mercury) moves not in a central Newtonian field of forces, but rather in the gravitational field of a rotating viscoelastic planet (Sun).     

应答式目标旋转运动对雷达速度测量的影响

携带应答机的飞行目标,若除了沿其某一轨道运动外,还作自旋运动,应答机天线辐射相位空间分布的不均匀性会使应答机转发信号产生附加的相位调制,因而导致多卜勒测量雷达的测量误差。本文分析了对称安装三天线园柱形应答式目标回波的多卜勒频率调制。得出了附加多卜勒频率及其各阶导数的解析式。研究了目标旋转速度、方向角(目标旋转轴线与雷达视线的夹角)和回波谱线宽度的关系,以及对雷达多卜勒测量精度的影响,它对于研究自旋再入体测量问题具有实用价值。文章给出了一个典型的三天线园锥目标模拟旋转试验结果。试验中在不同目标转速下由相参雷达跟踪测量目标回波,同时记录中频信号、多卜勒跟踪回路鉴频器输出等有用信息。对试验数据的分析得出了明确的结论:目标旋转使回波信号的谱线展宽、测速误差增大,谱线宽度与目标转速成正比,同时谱线宽度随目标方向角增大而加宽,方向角为90°时旋转影响最大。理论分析得出了与试验相同的结果。虽然试验是在静态下进行的,但问题的分析对质心运动的目标也同样适用。     

有分布质量系绳的卫星系统的动力学

以一组偏微分方程建立起的数学模型和采用距离速率控制算法来描述系统的受控运动。创建的递推算法用于计算系统的定常运动和称驻形。根据求解小偏差运动方程和通过边界条件求解特征根以判定驻形的稳定性。给出了模拟结果。