A Lyapunov design approach to magnetic nutation damping

摘要

Launch vehicle volume and payload geometry can often guide spacecraft design toward spin stabilization about a minor principal axis. ^But this requires full time control throughout the satellite's mission life. ^For smaller satellites, magnetic control provides a simple and inexpensive method which requires no expendables and therefore does not limit the lifetime of the satellite. ^Currently, two magnetic nutation damping laws have been used in such applications. ^Both laws are based on heuristic derivations. ^A new magnetic nutation damping law is developed here using a Liapunov approach. ^This new law is equivalent to the previously available laws when the vehicles are axisymmetric; however, in the case of asymmetric vehicles, the Liapunov-based law is superior in terms of nutation damping time. ^The Liapunov development provides rigorous justification for the two existing magnetic nutation damping laws when applied to symmetric satellites. ^The new law also guarantees global convergence, within certain restrictions, thus providing for autonomous flat spin recovery of minor-axis spinning satellites. ^(Author)