Attitude control by modulating the rate of propellant depletion

Details Attitude control by modulating the rate of propellant depletion Attitude control by modulating the rate of propellant depletion

1994-03-23

2000-09-05

Barefoot, Galen L.

Aeronautics and astronautics

Spacecraft

Attitude control

701 13, B64G 126

Patent

active

061130354

ABSTRACT:
A spacecraft according to the invention includes a pair of propellant tanks, with the nominal center of mass of the spacecraft located therebetween. Propellant is coupled from the tanks to a velocity-change-inducing thruster by a controllable coupling arrangement. Unwanted torques may occur which tend to perturb the attitude. An attitude control arrangement generates an error signal in response to deviations of the attitude from the desired attitude. The error signal is processed to control the propellant coupling arrangement, to cause propellant to be used preferentially from at least one of the tanks in a manner which tends to move the actual center of mass relative to the axis of thrust or line of action of the thruster. In one embodiment of the invention, the controllable coupling arrangement includes a manifold for coupling propellant from the tanks to the thruster, a tank of pressurizing gas, and a controllable manifold coupling the tank of pressurizing gas to the propellant tanks. The attitude error signal is processed to control the pressurant gas pressure in the propellant tanks, to thereby tend to feed preferentially from one tank to the thruster, to thereby move the center of mass toward (or sometimes away from) the axis of thrust of the thruster.

REFERENCES:
patent: 4470568 (1984-09-01), Nuefeld
patent: 5058834 (1991-10-01), Hubert
patent: 5148674 (1992-09-01), Morris
patent: 5251852 (1993-10-01), Pulkowski et al.
patent: 5284309 (1994-02-01), Salvatore et al.

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