CONTROL-STRUCTURE INTERACTIONS OF SPACE STATION SOLAR DYNAMIC MODULES

Potential control/structures interaction problems of large flexible mu ltibody structures in the presence of pointing and tracking requiremen ts are addressed. A control approach is introduced for the simultaneou s tracking and vibration control of multibody space structures. The ap plication that is discussed is the planned Space Station Freedom confi gured with solar dynamic modules. The solar dynamic fine-pointing and tracking requirements may necessitate controller frequencies above the structural natural frequencies of space station and the solar dynamic modules themselves. It is well known that this can give rise to contr ol/structure interaction problems if the controller is designed withou t giving due consideration to the structural dynamics of the system. P ossible control/structure interaction problems of Freedom's solar dyna mic power systems are investigated. A finite element model of Freedom is used to demonstrate these potential control/structure interaction p roblems and the proposed tracking and vibration control approach.