ATTITUDE STABILITY OF DUAL-SPIN ASYMMETRIC SPACECRAFT

Attitude stability of an asymmetric dual-spin spacecraft incorporating a flexible joint under the influence of energy dissipation in platfor m, rotor and joint is investigated. The governing equations when suita bly linearized represent the motion of a multidegree-of-freedom, nonst ationary, gyroscopic system. Closed form stability conditions are esta blished, for perturbations of small intensity, using the method of Ave raging. A numerical method, based on Floquet theory is also used to ve rify the analytical predictions. Stability regions are presented for t he external rotor-type dual-spin spacecraft using the Intelsat IV seri es satellite as an example.