초록 ▼

A spacecraft incorporating momentum sources such as spinning momentum wheels having momentum vectors or components thereof oriented along the desired axis of rotation of the spacecraft. The rotation axis of the spacecraft is nominally any one of the three principal moment of inertia axes of the body

A spacecraft incorporating momentum sources such as spinning momentum wheels having momentum vectors or components thereof oriented along the desired axis of rotation of the spacecraft. The rotation axis of the spacecraft is nominally any one of the three principal moment of inertia axes of the body. Proper adjustment of the spin rate of the main body relative to the magnitude of the moment sources angular momentum will insure that the spacecraft will spin about the desired axis in a passively stable way even though the rotational axis is not the principal axis of maximum moment of inertia.

대표청구항 ▼

A stabilization system for a spinning spacecraft having three mutually perpendicular principal axes, defined as x, y and z axes, with the spacecraft spinning about the z-axis, the stabilization system including: a pair of rotatable momentum wheels carried by the spacecraft, each of said wheels havin

A stabilization system for a spinning spacecraft having three mutually perpendicular principal axes, defined as x, y and z axes, with the spacecraft spinning about the z-axis, the stabilization system including: a pair of rotatable momentum wheels carried by the spacecraft, each of said wheels having an axis of rotation oriented at an angle with respect to the z-axis on opposite sides of the x-axis in a common plane which includes both the z and y axes; means for rotating said wheels in respectively opposite directions but at the same speed, whereby components of angular momentum thereby generated by said wheels along the y-axis are annulingly subtractive, and components of angular momentum thereby generated by said wheels along the z-axis are additive, thereby providing additional angular momentum along the z-axis, wherein the magnitude of said additional momentum is to stabilize the spacecraft about the z-axis.