Three-axis Attitude Control for Flexible Spacecraft by Lyapunov Approach under Gravity Potential

Abstract

Attitude control law synthesis for the three-axis attitude maneuver of a flexible spacecraft model is presented in this study. The basic idea is motivated by previous works for the extension into a more general case. The new case includes gravitational gradient torque which has significant effect on a wide range of low earth orbit missions. As the first step, the fully nonlinear dynamic equations of motion are derived including gravitational gradient. The control law design based upon the Lyapunov approach is attempted. The Lyapunov function consists of a weighted combination of system kinetic and potential energy. Then, a set of stabilizing control law is derived from the basic Lyapunov stability theory. The new control law is therefore in a general form partially validating the previous work in some sense.