Calculating the WCET of mission-critical satellite applications is a challenging issue. The European Space Agency is currently undertaking the CryoSat mission, consisting of a radar altimetry satellite to be launched in 2005. This paper describes the challenges and the first experimental results of calculating the WCET of the Control and Data Management Unit (CDMU) subsystem of the satellite. T...

Control laws for an integrated power/attitude control system (IPACS) for a satellite using variable-speed singlegimbal control moment gyroscopes (VSCMGs) are introduced. Whereas the wheel spin rates of the conventional CMGs are constant, the VSCMGs are allowed to have variable speeds. Therefore, VSCMGs have extra degrees of freedom and can be used to achieve additional objectives, such as energ...

In view of the issue of rapid attitude maneuver control of agile satellite, this paper presents an attitude-tracking control algorithm with path planning based on the improved genetic algorithm, adaptive backstepping control as well as sliding mode control. The satellite applies double gimbal control moment gyro as actuator and is subjected to the external disturbance and uncertain inertia prop...

This study focuses on the development of a precise attitude control system for small satellites. In general, conventional methods used for attitude control in standard-sized satellites are not applicable to small satellites because of constraints of power consumption, space requirements, and mass. In addition, small satellites are more greatly affected than standard-sized satellites by attitude...

PW-Sat2 satellite is a 2kg CubeSat that is being developed by the students from Warsaw University of Technology. The project is a part of activity of the Students’ Space Association from Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering. The satellite will be launched in 2016 in Low Earth Orbit to test the deorbitation method using deployed sail in the end of the mission. The CubeSat will have depl...

Pointing a satellite in the right direction is fundamental to its mission. To stay "alive" it has to point toward the Sun; to talk to Earth and to other satellites, it has to point toward them. The technology for pointing the satellites, called the attitude control system, is traditionally a quite sophisticated combination of sensors, actuators (which move the satellite), and control logic (usu...