A Gimballed Control Moment Gyroscope Cluster Design for Spacecraft Attitude Control

This paper addresses the problem of singularity avoidance in a cluster of four Single-Gimbal Control Moment Gyroscopes (SGCMGs) in a pyramid configuration when used for the attitude control of a satellite by introducing a new gimballed control moment gyroscope (GCMG) cluster scheme. Four SGCMGs were used in a pyramid configuration, along with an additional small and simple stepper motor that was used to gimbal the full cluster around its vertical (z) axis. Contrary to the use of four variable-speed control moment gyroscopes (VSCMGs), where eight degrees of freedom are available for singularity avoidance, the proposed GCMG design uses only five degrees of freedom (DoFs), and a modified steering law was designed for the new setup. The proposed design offers the advantages of SGCMGs, such as a low weight, size, and reduced complexity, with the additional benefit of overcoming the internal elliptic singularities, which create a minor attitude error. A comparison with the four-VSCMG cluster was conducted through numerical simulations, and the results indicated that the GCMG design was considerably more efficient in terms of power while achieving a better gimbal configuration at the end of the simulation, which is essential when it is desired for different manoeuvres to be consecutively executed. Additionally, for a nano-satellite of a few kilograms, the results prove that it is feasible to manufacture the GCMG concept by using affordable and lightweight commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) stepper motors.

ADDITIONAL LAUNCHING AND APPROACH OF A SPACE ROBOT FOR SERVICING A GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE

The problems of additional launching a space robot into a geostationary orbit and approaching a geostationary satellite for its maintenance are considered. The robot's attitude and orbit control system uses an electric propulsion unit, a propulsion system based on eight electric thermo-catalytic engines with pulse-width modulation of their thrust, and a gyro moment cluster based on four single-gimbal control moment gyroscopes (gyrodines). Numerical results are presented that demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed discrete guidance and control algorithms.

Design of control moment gyro electric drive with strict requirements on ensuring desired rotational velocities

The paper discusses the issues of designing a control moment gyroscope electric drive with strict requirements in terms of the accuracy of ensuring a given rotation rate of the gyro motor suspension. A brief description of the control moment gyroscope electric drive applied currently is presented and the issues of improving the electric drive characteristics are discussed. As a solution, an electric drive is proposed which operates in the mode of feedback loop using angle sensors located on the axes of the gyroscope suspension and the engine rotor. The paper describes the arrangement of the control moment gyroscopes on advanced spacecraft for Earth remote sensing and presents the analytic expressions needed to calculate the control moments that affect the spacecraft. The moments are in the projection to the coordinate system brought into coincidence with the spacecraft. The paper compares spacecraft angular velocity stabilization errors for the cases of using the conventional scheme of control moment gyroscope electric drive and the newly developed one. The presented results can be used for developing control moment gyroscope electric drives to be mounted on spacecraft of different purpose with strict requirements on ensuring operation at specified rotational velocities.

Satellite Attitude Control Using Control Moment Gyroscopes

In space missions, there is often a need for an attitude control system capable of maintaining the desired attitude. In situations that require agile and accurate responses, which also require large torques, control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) may be used. Control moment gyroscopes are high angular moment gyros mounted on gimbals and are responsible for changing the direction of the angular momentum vector, consequently generating the control torques. There are several linear and nonlinear techniques that can be employed in the design of control laws with the final choice being a compromise between simplicity, effectiveness, efficiency and robustness. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of control systems techniques with 4 CMGs in a pyramidal arrangement, either by using Linear Quadratic Tracker (LQT) with integral compensator or Exponential Mapping Control (EMC). A reference attitude will be defined to be traced in the presence of disturbance torques caused by the gravitational gradient.