Passive 3 axis attitude control of MSU-1 pico-satellite

In this work, natural forces and torques are considered as passive attitude control means for very small satellites. Traditional feedback controllers consider these forces and torques as perturbations, instead here they are used to control the attitude. This work provides a general description of the passive 3 degree of freedom stabilization problem, the forces and torques that can be used, and the need to supply an energy dissipation mechanism. The design and analysis of the passive 3 axis attitude control of the MSU-1 pico-satellite, using gravity gradient, aerodynamic pressure and a viscous ring damper is performed. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.