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Attitude and translation control of a solar sail vehicle
| Content Provider | NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) |
|---|---|
| Author | Singh, Gurkirpal |
| Copyright Year | 2008 |
| Description | A report discusses the ability to control the attitude and translation degrees-of-freedom of a solar sail vehicle by changing its center of gravity. A movement of the spacecraft s center of mass causes solar-pressure force to apply a torque to the vehicle. At the compact core of the solar-sail vehicle lies the spacecraft bus which is a large fraction of the total vehicle mass. In this concept, the bus is attached to the spacecraft by two single degree-of-freedom linear tracks. This allows relative movement of the bus in the sail plane. At the null position, the resulting solar pressure applies no torque to the vehicle. But any deviation of the bus from the null creates an offset between the spacecraft center of mass and center of solar radiation pressure, resulting in a solar-pressure torque on the vehicle which changes the vehicle attitude. Two of the three vehicle degrees of freedom can be actively controlled in this manner. The third, the roll about the sunline, requires a low-authority vane/propulsive subsystem. Translation control of the vehicle is achieved by directing the solar-pressure-induced force in the proper inertial direction. This requires attitude control. Attitude and translation degrees-of-freedom are therefore coupled. A guidance law is proposed, which allows the vehicle to stationkeep at an appropriate point on the inertially-rotating Sun-Earth line. Power requirements for moving the bus are minimal. Extensive software simulations have been performed to demonstrate the feasibility of this concept. |
| File Size | 53575 |
| Page Count | 1 |
| File Format | |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://archive.org/details/NASA_NTRS_Archive_20090017552 |
| Archival Resource Key | ark:/13960/t36160x82 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher Date | 2008-05-01 |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Subject Keyword | Technology Utilization And Surface Transportation Solar Sails Center of Pressure Degrees of Freedom Torque Attitude Control Simulation Center of Mass Center of Gravity Translating Rotation Active Control Ntrs Nasa Technical Reports Server (ntrs) Nasa Technical Reports Server Aerodynamics Aircraft Aerospace Engineering Aerospace Aeronautic Space Science |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Technical Report |
