Dynamics Analysis of a Two-Body Gravitationally Oriented Satellite

This paper deals with the analysis of the rotational motion of a satellite consisting of two rigid bodies connected by a hinge mechanism of universal joint type. The rotational motion of the satellite thus has five degrees of freedom; the two degrees of freedom that, involve the relative motion between the two bodies arc provided with energy dissipation. It is found that any motion of the satellite with respect to the local vertical always involves relative motion between the two bodies. Therefore, the damping at the hinge joint dissipates not only the relative motion of the two bodies but also the motion of the satellite with respect to the local vertical. The satellite will then converge upon a stable motion in which a specified axis of the satellite will remain close to the local vertical. The equations of motion are derived directly from those of Newton and Euler. This approach naturally suggests several additional dependent variables and results in numerically workable equations. This is not the case in the Lagrangian formulation. There are several practical problems involved in this scheme of pasf Bellcoinm, Inc. 2239