A Space Station (SS) attached Payload Pointing System (PPS) was designed and analyzed. The PPS is responsible for maintaining inertially fixed payload pointing in the presence of disturbances applied to the SS. The payload considered in this analysis, the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT), was attached to the SS via a 3-axis gimbal system. NASTRAN structural models were developed assuming the SS to be a flexible structure while the gimbal mechanism and SOT were assumed to be rigid bodies, and a state space description of the plant (SS + Gimbal + SOT) was formulated. A digital controller was designed and a linear stability analysis of the overall control loop was performed. Finally, system performance was evaluated via digital time simulations by applying various disturbance forces to the SS including crew motions, centrifuge, thruster firing, and Space Shuttle docking. The PPS met the SS articulated pointing requirement for all disturbances except Shuttle docking and some centrifuge cases.

Date Published: 3 May 1988
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 0887, Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing II, (3 May 1988); doi: 10.1117/12.944204

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 0887:
Acquisition, Tracking, and Pointing II
James E. Kimbrell, Editor(s)