SPACECRAFT ATTITUDE CONTROL SYSTEM USING LOW THRUST THRUSTERS

摘要

A spacecraft, such as a geosynchronous weather or communications satellite, is constructed to include a plurality of low thrust thrusters mounted at predetermined locations on at least one of a spacecraft appendage or a spacecraft bus. The plurality of low thrust thrusters are fired in pairs for at least one of removing a disturbance torque or providing fine pointing attitude control. In one embodiment the low thrust thrusters are mounted on a solar array panel, thereby increasing the moment arm and enhancing the thrust output of the low thrust thrusters. In one embodiment a spacecraft has a plurality of low thrust thrusters arranged as at least two sets of two low thrust thrusters, individual ones of the low thrust thrusters of a set being disposed in a V-configuration and mounted at predetermined locations on at least one of a spacecraft appendage or a spacecraft bus. The plurality of low thrust thrusters are selectively fired for achieving control of 3-axes of spacecraft attitude or momentum.