Attitude Orientation Control for a Spinning Satellite

Abstract

The Department of the Air Force, Headquarters Space Systems Division, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are currently involved in litigation with Hughes Aircraft Company over the alleged infringement of the 'Williams patent,' which describes a method for attitude control of a spin-stabilized vehicle. This Note summarizes pre-1960 RAND work on this subject and presents information obtained from RAND personnel knowledgeable on this subject. The Note also reviews the TIROS II magnetic torque attitude control method. The TIROS II meteorological satellite, launched on November 23, 1960, incorporated a magnetic actuation system for spin-axis orientation control. The activation system was ground-controlled to orient the satellite spin axis to obtain the desired pointing direction for optical and infrared sensor subsystems.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA253256

Entities

People

  • Gerald V. Frost

Organizations

  • RAND Corporation

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Angular Momentum
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Astronautics
  • Detectors
  • Earth Orbits
  • Flux Density
  • Low Earth Orbits
  • Magnetic Dipoles
  • Magnetic Fields
  • Magnetic Flux
  • Magnetic Flux Density
  • Meteorological Satellites
  • Satellite Attitude Control
  • Satellite Orientation
  • Space Systems
  • Spacecraft

Readers

  • Control Systems Engineering.
  • Geodesy
  • Government and Public Administration Law.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Satellites
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers