Generation of structural design constraints for spaceborne precision pointing systems

This paper formulates the problem of generating structural design constraints for spaceborne precision pointing systems as a robust performance problem. This problem is relevant during the initial requirement flow-down and preliminary design phase for these types of systems. Using a nominal controller design, which satisfies the performance requirements on a nominal plant model, frequency dependent uncertainty weights are chosen such that a compromise between simplicity in control architecture and feasibility of mechanical design are made. The analysis problem is formulated as a structural singular value test. The procedure is demonstrated on a single-axis model of a gimbal inertial pointing system when the inertial measurement device is either on or off the gimbal.