3-DIMENSIONAL REORIENTATION OF A SYSTEM OF INTERCONNECTED RIGID BODIES

A method for reorienting a system of interconnected rigid bodies, such as a spacecraft equipped with a robotic manipulator, is presented. Re lative motions of parts of the system are used to accomplish the desir ed reorientations either optimally or non-optimally. Equations of moti on for the type of systems under consideration as well as the boundary conditions imposed on the variables are stated. A non-optimal techniq ue involving a shooting method is presented along with an illustrative example of the reorientation of the Space Shuttle and its Remote Mani pulator System. A technique is then formulated to accomplish the same task optimally, in an energy sense. Relative advantages of the two met hods as well as some comparisons are then discussed.