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12 - Introduction To Space Flight Control

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35 views

12 - Introduction To Space Flight Control

Uploaded by

diserplayz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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AE-777

Lecture No. 12

Introduction to Space Flight Control


Space Flight
• Space flight is primarily governed by gravity.
• The gravity field is generated by one or more
bodies, which are themselves moving under
mutual gravitational attraction.
• Space flight is perturbed by the presence of
small force and torque disturbances due to
environment (atmosphere, solar radiation
pressure, geo-magnetism, etc.).
• Unless thrust is applied by rocket engines, a
spacecraft moves in well defined trajectories.

AE-777 Lec#12 A.Tewari


Spacecraft
• Spacecraft are vehicles specially designed to operate in
the space for performing specific missions.
• They carry special equipment as their payload, e.g.,
optical, thermal, radio, and magnetic sensors, radio/TV
transmitters, which help in performing their missions.
• A spacecraft’s structure shields its payload/ occupants
from thermal, electromagnetic, and radioactive radiation.
• It carries onboard electrical power generators (solar
arrays, batteries, nuclear/thermal reactors).
• It is equipped with rocket engines, rotors, and other
actuators to control its position (propulsion) and
orientation (attitude control) in space.
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Classification of Spacecraft
• Spacecraft are classified according to their mission.
• Low-orbiting satellites, such as the low-Earth orbit (LEO)
spacecraft, are used for observation, mapping, and
remote sensing of resources on a planet.
• Medium-orbits, such as the constellation of GPS
satellites of ~12 hr. period, are used for positioning and
navigational purposes.
• Synchronous satellites, such as the geosynchronous
equatorial orbits (GEO), are in circular orbits whose
period matches the rate of rotation of a planet, thereby
fixing the spacecraft above a point on the surface for the
relay of telecommunications signals.
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Classification of Spacecraft (continued)
• Lunar spacecraft for orbiting/landing on the Moon, such
as the manned Apollo missions, and various robotic
spacecraft/lunar landers.
• Interplanetary spacecraft are specially designed to
explore other planets, their moons, asteroids, or comets.
• Examples include the Mars Observer and Mars Global
Surveyor spacecraft, Pioneer and Voyager series of
spacecraft for exploring the outer planets and their
moons, Messenger mission to the planet Mercury, New
Horizons mission to Pluto, its moon Charon, and other
trans-Neptunian objects.

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Example: New Horizons

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Space Flight
• The motion of a spacecraft can be approximated
as that of a rigid body, and thus consists of:
– Translation of the centre of mass (orbital
dynamics)
– Rotation of the spacecraft about its centre of
mass (attitude dynamics)
• Both orbital dynamics and attitude dynamics
must be well controlled for a successful mission.

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Example: Sliding Block on
a Horizontal, Frictionless Table
Top View

y(t)

c.m.
L (t)
f(t)
Translational dynamics: m d2y/dt2 = f
Rotational dynamics: J d2/dt2 = fL
System parameters: m, J, L
Linear system; Order of the system: 4

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Example (continued)

• A choice of state variables: x1 = y ; x2 = dy/dt ;


x3 =  ; x4 = d/dt

• State Equations:
x1  x2 (Translationalkinematics)
x2  f / m (Translationalkinetics)
x3  x4 (Rotationalkinematics)
x4  ( L / J ) f (Rotationalkinetics)
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General Spacecraft Control System

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Idealized Spacecraft Orbital Control

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AE-777 Lec#12 A.Tewari
v(t)
ih
i ir

h(t) = r(t)v(t)
r(t) v(0)

a
h(0) = r(0)v(0)

r(0)

Unforced orbit (a=0)

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