The Dynamics of Systems of Rigid and Elastic Bodies as Applied to Spacecraft

The basic results of the scientific research conducted at the S. P. Timoshenko Institute of Mechanics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU) in a creative cooperation with the M. K. Yangel' SDO "Yuzhnoe" and the Institute of Technical Mechanics of NASU and the National Space Agency of Ukraine (NSAU) are generalized and systematized. The research addressed mathematical models and the dynamics of objects of space-rocket engineering such as controlled systems of rigid and elastic bodies, systems of rigid bodies of variable configuration, and systems of bodies with unilateral connections. The following information is detailed here: methods for creating spatial program motions of elastic space structures about the center of mass, methods and algorithms for mathematical simulation of the dynamics of reconfigurable spacecraft, unconventional concepts of simulating the state of weightlessness of a reconfiguring spacecraft under earth conditions on a special stand using suspension cables, different aspects of the dynamics of space cable systems, and other problems resolved within the framework of the subjects indicated