E. Vandoorn et Sf. Asokanthan, ATTITUDE STABILITY OF DUAL-SPIN ASYMMETRIC SPACECRAFT, The Journal of the astronautical sciences, 44(2), 1996, pp. 149-165
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.