Experiments in modern control on-board iras

The paper describes algorithms for on-board commanding, estimation and control of the attitude of manoeuvring spacecraft using an on-board computer. Their performance is demonstrated in in-flight experiments with the Infra Red Astronomical Satellite. The following items are discussed: - on-board conmanding of the spacecraft attitude motion, - a...

In-flight attitude estimations and control experiments with Iras based on modern control theory

One of the research activities of the Space Division of the National Aerospace Laboratory NLR is the application of modern estimation and control theory to spacecraft attitude control problems. Algorithms for spacecraft state estimation and attitude control, as well as for inertial-optical attitude determination have been developed previously...