CHAOS IN A SPACECRAFT ATTITUDE MANEUVER DUE TO TIME-PERIODIC PERTURBATIONS

We use Melnikov's method to study the chaotic dynamics of an attitude transition maneuver of a torque-free rigid body in going from minor ax is spin to major axis spin under the influence of small damping. The c haotic motion is due to the formation of Smale horseshoes which are ca used by the oscillation of small subbodies inside the satellite. The e quations of motion are derived and then transformed into a form suitab le for the application of Melnikov's method. An analytical criterion f or chaotic motion is derived in terms of the system parameters. This c riterion is evaluated for its significance to the design of artificial satellites.