Agile, spinning spacecraft with sun-steerable solar cell array a

Details Agile, spinning spacecraft with sun-steerable solar cell array a Agile, spinning spacecraft with sun-steerable solar cell array a

1997-05-14

2000-05-30

Poon, Peter M.

Aeronautics and astronautics

Spacecraft

With payload accommodation

B64G 144

Patent

active

060682183

ABSTRACT:
An agile, spinning spacecraft has a first body portion and a second body portion which is rotatably coupled about a first rotational axis to the first body portion. A pair of planar solar cell arrays are rotatably coupled to the second body portion along a second rotational axis that is preferably orthogonal to the first rotational axis. The first body portion can be spun if desired and the first rotational axis can be directed by an attitude control system to have selected orientations. The solar cell arrays are rotated about the first and second rotational axes in accordance with steering laws which maintain the arrays in an orthogonal relationship with a Sun line.

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