An adaptive mass expulsion attitude control system

摘要

In an attitude control system and method operative with a thruster (40) in which the thruster (40) comprises a valve enabling the formation of pulses of expelled gas from a source of compressed gas, data of the attitude of the vehicle is gathered, wherein the vehicle is located within a force field tending to orient the vehicle in a first attitude different from a desired attitude, and the attitude data is evaluated to determine a pattern of values of attitude of the vehicle in response to the gas pulses of the thruster and in response to the force field. The system and the method maintain the attitude within a predetermined band of values of attitude which includes the desired attitude. Computation circuitry (68) establishes an optimal duration of each of the gas pulses based on the pattern of values of attitude, the optimal duration providing for a minimal number of opening and closure operations of the valve. The thruster (40) is operated to provide gas pulses having the optimal duration <IMAGE>