Attitude control of a bias momentum geostationary satellite in an inclined orbit

Abstract

An attitude control logic for a pitch bias momentum geostationary satellite with a skewed roll/yaw magnetic torquer in an inclined orbit is presented. The inclined orbit operation for geostationary satellites is primarily targeted to saving onboard fuel. A specific spacecraft model is used to establish operational strategies for the attitude maneuver in an inclined orbit. An onboard momentum wheel attached to a pivot steering mechanism for pitch and roll control and a skewed magnetic torquer for roll/yaw control are employed as main actuators. The control commands are issued at regular time intervals to reflect ground-loop implementations of the proposed technique. A real-time ground-based attitude estimator is designed to update the yaw angle information using roll angle telemetry data. Simultaneous pitch and roll/yaw pointing with the inclination angle of 2 deg turns out to be feasible by the proposed method.