Cl. Foster et al., SOLAR-ARRAY-INDUCED DISTURBANCE OF THE HUBBLE-SPACE-TELESCOPE POINTING SYSTEM, Journal of spacecraft and rockets, 32(4), 1995, pp. 634-644
The investigation of the vibrational disturbances of the Hubble Space
Telescope that were discovered soon after deployment in orbit is descr
ibed in detail. It was found that the disturbances were particularly e
vident during orbital day-night crossings, and that the magnitude of t
he disturbances was considerably larger than the design jitter require
ment. This paper describes the process by which the vibrations were ch
aracterized and isolated to a particular mechanism, The analysis of th
e flight data and comparisons with computer simulation results showed
that the source of the disturbances was the thermally driven deformati
on of the solar arrays In conjunction with frictional effects in the a
rray mechanisms. The control system was successfully modified to atten
uate the disturbances to tolerable levels pending mechanical and therm
al redesign of the solar arrays, The new arrays were installed during
the first Space Telescope servicing mission, and in combination with t
he enhanced control system algorithm reduced the disturbances to satis
factory levels.