Session
Technical Session VII: Attitude Control I
Abstract
The very "smallness" of small satellites mandates mass minimization. This paper addresses minimization of overall reaction wheel mass, including the incremental mass of the power subsystem needed to support the reaction wheel. The results are applicable to a wide range of wheel sizes and are suitable for optimization at the configuration level. For an average momentum and torque operating point, the minimization process yields wheel radius and angular velocity, as well as, the masses associated with the motor, wheel, housing, and power subsystems. Only four parameters are needed: the power supply mass penalty, a generalized motor constant, the wheel form factor, and the housing mass penalty. Additionally, extremes where the momentum or the torque equals zero are examined in light of thermal and stress constraints, respectively. Excellent correlation with past tabulated momentum versus mass data is demonstrated. Finally, current Fairchild IR&D efforts on a small wheel concept for small satellites is described.
Small Satellite Reaction Wheel Optimization
The very "smallness" of small satellites mandates mass minimization. This paper addresses minimization of overall reaction wheel mass, including the incremental mass of the power subsystem needed to support the reaction wheel. The results are applicable to a wide range of wheel sizes and are suitable for optimization at the configuration level. For an average momentum and torque operating point, the minimization process yields wheel radius and angular velocity, as well as, the masses associated with the motor, wheel, housing, and power subsystems. Only four parameters are needed: the power supply mass penalty, a generalized motor constant, the wheel form factor, and the housing mass penalty. Additionally, extremes where the momentum or the torque equals zero are examined in light of thermal and stress constraints, respectively. Excellent correlation with past tabulated momentum versus mass data is demonstrated. Finally, current Fairchild IR&D efforts on a small wheel concept for small satellites is described.
