ATTITUDE CONTROL AND ESTIMATION ACTIVITIES DURING COMMISSIONING OF THE TWIN VAN ALLEN PROBES SPACECRAFT

摘要

The Van Allen Probes were launched into Earth orbit on August 30, 2012 for anominal two-year mission to study the Earth’s radiation belts and their interactionwith the Sun. The two spin-stabilized spacecraft have onboard Guidanceand Control hardware consisting of Sun sensors, passive nutation dampers, andeight mono-propellant hydrazine thrusters. Magnetometer data are provided bya science instrument. Attitude estimates and open-loop maneuver designs aregenerated on the ground. During the first 60 days of commissioning the Guidanceand Control team designed and executed a total of 24 maneuvers, performedcalibrations of the Sun sensors, thrusters, and magnetometers, computedchanges in spacecraft moments of inertia through various spacecraft solararray panel and instrument boom deployments, and better characterized the dynamicalbehavior of the twin spacecraft in their highly elliptical orbits. Thispaper describes the Van Allen Probes spacecraft, the attitude estimation andcontrol activities conducted during the first 60 days of commissioning, and theperformance of the spacecraft and ground software throughout this period oftime.