Vibration Control of Flexible Spacecraft: Old Lessons and New Problems

摘要

The dynamics and control of large, very flexible spacecraft became the focus of the space program in the late 70's and early 80's leading up to the international space station and the US "Star Wars" program. The end of the cold war and the launch of the space station brought research activities to a halt. Recent interest in using inflatable technology to build satellites has again raised the issue of controlling the vibrations and shape of ultra flexible satellite systems, often referred to as Gossamer Spacecraft. This paper explores the lessons learned from the past and points to some new problems and solutions of future large space systems motivated by the current US program: Innovative Space Based Radar Antenna Technology Program (ISAT program).