Experimental Validation of Attitude Control Laws
A new Integrated Attitude Control Simulator (IACS) facility was constructed via a DURIP/AFOSR grant and is now being used to test several attitude control laws. The main component of this facility is a cylindrical platform located on a hemi-spherical air bearing that allows friction-free rotation about three axes. IACS includes a variety of actuators and sensors: gas thrusters, variable-speed controlled momentum gyros (which can operate solely in a reaction wheel (RW) or in a control momentum gyro (CMG) mode), a two-axial sun sensor, a high-precision three-axial rate gyro, a three-axial magnetometer, and a complementary inertial measurement unit. The facility offers a truly integrated attitude control system (IACS) for experimental testing of advanced attitude determination and control algorithms. This new facility has replaced a smaller first-generation simulator which is now used only for educational purposes.
Sponsors
This project is sponsored by NASA LaRC via the NIA initiative, AFOSR, AFRL and Northop-Grumman.
Selected Publications
- Jung, D. and Tsiotras, P.,"A 3-DoF Experimental Test-Bed for Integrated Attitude Dynamics and Control Research,'' AIAA Paper 03-5331, AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference, Austin, TX, 2003.
- Kim, B., Velenis, E., Kriengsiri, P. and Tsiotras, P., "A Low-Cost Spacecraft Simulator for Research and Education," IEEE Control Systems Magazine, Vol. 23, No. 4, pp. 26-37, 2003
- Chaplais, F., Tsiotras, P., and Jung, D., "On-Line Wavelet Denoising with Application to the Control of a Reaction Wheel System,'' AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference, AIAA Paper 04-5345, Providence, RI, August 16--19, 2004.
- Jung, D. and Tsiotras, P., "Experimental Comparison of CMG Steering Controls,'' AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference and Exhibit, AIAA Paper 04-5294,Providence, RI, August 16--19, 2004.
Movies
- The first generation spacecraft simulator.
- A stabilizing maneuver with IACS in reaction wheel mode (Case I).
- A stabilizing maneuver with IACS in reaction wheel mode (Case II).
- A stabilizing maneuver with IACS in CMG mode.
- A stabilizing maneuver with IACS in thruster mode.
