Reaction wheel with HTS bearings for mini-satellite attitude control

We have developed a small reaction wheel, designed to be lightweight, compact and energy efficient. The main innovation is the use of the HTS magnet's bearings that promise low friction so that high momentum storage can be achieved with high spin speed. The bearings consist of seeded growth superconducting discs arranged in rings located above and below the rotating levitated wheel containing ring-magnets embedded at the top and bottom. The reaction wheel is in the shape of a hollow stainless steel cylinder. A brushless dc motor is installed inside the hollow cylinder to provide the necessary torque to the reaction wheel. The maximum design spin speed is 15 000 RPM to store 3.5 J s(-1) of angular momentum. Spin-down test of the reaction wheel was performed in air. We have also measured the input power required to sustain rotational speed of the reaction wheel in air. Results from both of these measurements, when extrapolated to full speed in vacuum, indicate that power consumption, even accounting for the needs of the cooling system, is significantly smaller than that for state of the art commercial reaction wheels using mechanical ball bearings.