The Combined Energy and Attitude Control System for Small Satellites – Earth Observation Missions

Small satellites for earth observation missions have received attention in the recent years for further optimisation. A potential approach would be to optimise the existing platforms in order to cope with their increasing mission requirements (e.g. mass, volume, etc.). In this article, the idea of combining the energy storage and attitude control systems is presented based on the flywheel technology, (combined energy and attitude control system, CEACS). Such a system consists of a double counter rotating flywheel assembly serving simultaneously for the satellite energy and attitude management. First, numerical treatments are conducted for the CEACS rotor to determine a failure free operational speed corresponding to the rotor stresses and natural frequencies. Then, the mathematical model describing the energy and attitude control is established, and the CEACS onboard architecture is implemented. Further, numerical simulations for the developed architecture are performed for the ideal and non-ideal test cases. This end-to-end system demonstration indicates that the CEACS is judiciously feasible, and is a potential subsystem for the future small satellites.