Space Station Attitude Control During Payload Operations

Abstract

Evaluating the feasibility of planned robotic operations requires an analysis methodology and tools that can quickly assess proposed attitude control strategies. In this paper, an efficient approach to model the attitude dynamics of the Space Station during payload motion is presented. This approach is used to formulate an alternative numerical solution for torque equilibrium attitudes including the effect of payload velocity. It is also shown that a judicious choice of attitude command during robotic operations can substantially reduce peak attitude control momentum use.