Attitude Control of a Flexible Spacecraft via Fuzzy Optimal Variance Technique

This paper investigates the performance of a fuzzy optimal variance control technique for attitude stability and vibration attenuation with regard to a spacecraft made of a rigid platform and multiple flexible appendages that can be retargeted to the line of sight. The proposed technique addresses the problem of actuators’ amplitude and rate constraints. The fuzzy model of the spacecraft is developed based on the Takagi-Sugeno(T-S) fuzzy model with disturbances, and the control input is designed using the Parallel Distributed Compensation technique (PDC). The problem is presented as an optimization problem in the form of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). The performance and the stability of the proposed controller are investigated through numerical simulation.

Attitude stability control of micro-nano satellite orbit maneuver based on bias momentum

In this paper, an attitude stability control strategy based on cold air micro propulsion microsatellite orbital maneuver is designed. Firstly, the influence of environmental disturbance moment, uncertainty of rotational moment of inertia and thrust eccentricity moment on the attitude stability of the micro-nano-satellite is considered, and the attitude dynamics model of the micro-nano-satellite based on biased momentum wheel and magnetic moment device is established. Then, the disturbance moments such as environmental disturbance moments, rotational inertia uncertainty and thrust eccentricity moments are analyzed. In order to suppress the influence of various internal and external disturbance factors on the stability of the micro-nano-satellite during the deorbiting process, a robust adaptive sliding mode variable structure controller is designed. The designed robust adaptive sliding mode controller is able to compensate for various disturbances adaptively. The robust adaptive sliding-mode variable structure controller is designed with a reasonable distribution of torque considering the characteristics of bias momentum wheel control and magnetic control. Finally, numerical simulations are performed, and the simulation results show that the system has good robustness.

Structure optimization design of a thin-film diffraction imaging system based on the Kriging model and the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm

A thin-film diffraction imaging system is a type of space telescope imaging system with high resolution and loose surface tolerance often used in various fields, such as ground observation and military reconnaissance. However, because this system is a large and flexible multi-body structure, it can produce flexural vibration easily during the orbit operation, which has a serious effect on the attitude stability of the system and results in low pointing accuracy. Therefore, this study proposes an optimization method based on the Kriging model and the improved particle swarm optimization algorithm to improve the stability and optimize the structure of the entire system. Results showed the area–mass ratio of the thin-film diffraction imaging system decreased by 9.874 %, the first-order natural frequency increased by 23.789 %, and the attitude stability of the thin-film diffraction imaging system improved.

Floquet modes and stability analysis of periodic orbit-attitude solutions along Earth–Moon halo orbits

Future space programmes pose some interesting research problems in the field of non-Keplerian dynamics, being the Moon and the cislunar space central in the proposed roadmap for the future space exploration. In these regards, the deployment of a cislunar space station on a non-Keplerian orbit in the lunar vicinity is a fundamental milestone to be achieved. The paper investigates the natural orbit-attitude dynamics and the attitude stabilisation of coupled motions for extended bodies in the Earth–Moon system. The discussion is carried out analysing the phase space of natural dynamics, constituted by both the orbital and the rotational periodic motions of a spacecraft in cislunar orbits. Floquet theory is applied to periodic orbit-attitude solutions in lunar proximity, to characterise their attitude stability properties and their attitude manifolds, which are discussed and analysed focusing on their dynamical features applicable to cislunar environment. Attitude stabilisation methods are proposed and developed, with particular attention to spin-stabilised solutions. Periodic orbit-attitude dynamics are studied to highlight possible favourable conditions that may be exploited to host a cislunar space station with a simplified control action. The focus of the analysis is dedicated to halo orbits and near-rectilinear halo orbit in the circular restricted three-body problem Earth–Moon system.

Design, Optimization and Experimental Verification of a Metal Rubber Isolator for Momentum Wheels

The inertial actuator, such as momentum wheels, is the key mechanical component of spacecraft for attitude stability and accuracy maintenance. However, the inertial actuators are under excessive vibration during the rocket launch phase. In order to prevent the inertial actuators from structural damage and equipment failure, isolating vibration from the base must be considered. Metal rubber (MR) is a kind of porous functional damping material, manufactured through the process of entangling, stretching, weaving and molding of metallic wires. With its excellent mechanical properties of high damping, designable stiffness and environmental adaptability, MR is widely used in the area of aerospace and aviation for vibration isolation. To this end, a method to design and optimize a MR isolator for momentum wheels is developed. The MR isolator consists of a transverse groove spring and MR in parallel. A FEM model coupling the transverse groove spring and the simplified momentum wheel is established to assist in the optimization of the configuration of the spring, and the goal is to minimize the frequency bandwidth of the first six modes. The influence of the parameters on the frequency of the first six modes is also discussed. The MR is then designed to provide damping and additional stiffness. Finally, the performance of the MR isolator is analyzed by simulation and verified through experiments.

Multi-degree-of-freedom vibration reduction strategy of the solar array drive system

The operation disturbance induced by the solar array drive system (SADS) and the residual vibration of solar array following the attitude adjustment of the spacecraft obviously affect the dynamics environment, quick stabilization, and attitude stability of the high-precision spacecraft. However, these two kinds of vibration disturbance are characterized by distinct vibration categories, direction of vibration, and modal shapes. A multi-degree-of-freedom vibration reduction strategy (VRS) was presented to improve the dynamic characteristics of SADS and then to weaken these disturbances synthetically in this paper. SADS applying this VRS was modeled based on the virtual work principle, and the influence of the stiffness and damping parameters of this VRS on the SADS dynamic characteristics was analyzed. Then a prototype of vibration reduction device (VRD) was designed and verified by disturbance characteristic and modal experiments. The results indicate that the equivalent stiffness of VRD is critical to the natural frequency of SADS and thus should be carefully deliberated to avoid resonance. The equivalent damping of VRD always has positive correlation with modal damping. A good performance up to 40% in terms of operation disturbance suppression and a greater than 56% decrease of the damping time for 99% residual vibration have been obtained.

Attitudes Based on Feelings: Fixed or Fleeting?

Researchers and practitioners want to create opinions that stick. Yet whereas some opinions stay fixed, others are as fleeting as the time it takes to report them. In seven longitudinal studies with more than 20,000 individuals, we found that attitudes based more on emotion are relatively fixed. Whether participants evaluated brand-new Christmas gifts or one of 40 brands, the more emotional their opinion, the less it changed over time, particularly if it was positive. In a word-of-mouth linguistic analysis of 75,000 real-world online reviews, we found that the more emotional consumers are in their first review, the more that attitude persists when they express it again even years later. Finally, more emotion-evoking persuasive messages create attitudes that decay less over time, further establishing emotion’s causal effect. These effects persist above and beyond other attitude-strength attributes. Interestingly, we also found that lay individuals generally fail to appreciate the relation between emotionality and attitude stability.