Gimbal angle restricted control moment gyroscope clusters

Abstract

Momentum envelopes for a cluster of four CMGs in pyramid mounting are obtained. The envelopes when gimbal travel is limited to ±90° are also presented. CMG steering simulations using Moore Penrose pseudo inverse as well as blended inverse are presented, and success of the pre planned blended inverse in avoiding gimbal angle limits is demonstrated. Also given is a successful satellite slew maneuver example using blended inverse, showing the completion of the maneuver without violating gimbal angle travel restrictions.