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An analytical approach to attitude determination of a spinning satellite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2016

Belur V. Dasarathy*
Affiliation:
School of Automation, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Extract

The attitude of a spinning satellite, specified in terms of the three Eulerian angles, is related to the angular velocity components in body-fixed co-ordinates by three coupled first-order non-linear differential equations. In general, these equations, being complex, are not amenable to analytical techniques. This study presents a new analytical approach to the analysis of these equations by first reducing the problem to the study of a single second-order non-linear differential equation and then establishing its equivalence with a second-order linear differential equation for the case of the satellite spinning with constant angular velocity components. The solution of this equivalent linear equation is then used to obtain the Eulerian angles.

Type
Technical notes
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 1974 

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References

1. Jorgenson, P. S. Chapter 2 of Gyroscopes: Theory and design (edited by Savet, P. H.). McGraw-Hill, New York, 1961.Google Scholar
2. Dasarathy, B. V. Analysis of a class of non-linear systems. Journal of Sound and Vibration, Vol 11, No 1, pp 139144, 1970.Google Scholar