|
Match
|
Document |
Document Title |
|
|
7561947 |
Dynamic CMG array and method
Methods and apparatus are provided for reorienting control moment gyros (CMGs) to compensate for CMG failure or change in spacecraft (S/C) mass properties or mission. An improved CMG comprises a...
|
|
|
7554237 |
Centrifugal-effect vibration generator having coaxial contrarotating rotors
A device for generating forces that are variable and controllable in amplitude, in direction, and in frequency, the device includes two unbalanced rotors ( 18, 20, 35 to 38 ) mounted coaxially in...
|
|
|
7512466 |
High-torque, low power reaction wheel array and method
Methods and apparatus are provided for reaction wheel (RW) assemblies for spacecraft. The apparatus comprises a M/G coupled to an inertia wheel and a controller coupled to the M/G that, in response...
|
|
|
7464899 |
Method and system for determining a singularity free momentum path
A method for avoiding singularities in the movement of CMGs in an array of CMGs in a spacecraft includes a first step where a maneuver command to rotate a spacecraft orientation is received. Then,...
|
|
|
7407137 |
Dual voltage integrated power and attitude control system and method
An integrated power and attitude control system and method for a vehicle efficiently supplies electrical power to both low voltage and high voltage loads, and does not rely on relatively heavy...
|
|
|
7370833 |
Method and system for determining a singularity free momentum path
A method for avoiding singularities in the movement of a set of collinear CMGs in an array of CMGs in a spacecraft is provided. First, a command to adjust an orientation of the spacecraft is...
|
|
|
7367529 |
Momentum tube for distributed actuation
An spacecraft control system is provided that includes a tube and a plurality of microwheels. The plurality of microwheels is disposed within the tube. Each microwheel has a first stator wafer, a...
|
|
|
7364120 |
Quantized control-moment gyroscope array
A momentum actuator for steering a spacecraft is disclosed. The momentum actuator comprises a rotor, a gimbal upon which the rotor is mounted, and a stepper motor coupled to the gimbal and operable...
|
|
|
7290737 |
Nonsurvivable momentum exchange system
A demiseable momentum exchange system includes a base and a flywheel rotatably supported on the base. The flywheel includes a web portion defining a plurality of web openings and a rim portion. The...
|
|
|
7273196 |
System for vehicle attitude and/or momentum control
A vehicle control system is provided that includes a slat having an axis, a plurality of microwheels disposed on the slat, each microwheel having a first stator wafer, a second stator wafer, and a...
|
|
|
7248967 |
Autonomous velocity estimation and navigation
Measurement of a spatial velocity vector in order to make determination of a geographical position possible. A spatial velocity meter includes an inertial measurement unit, a direction-sensing...
|
|
|
7246776 |
Method and system for CMG array singularity avoidance
The present method provides a method for avoiding singularities in the movement of CMGs in an array of CMGs in a spacecraft. In a first step, a torque command representing a desired torque to...
|
|
|
7216036 |
Integrated inertial stellar attitude sensor
An integrated inertial stellar attitude sensor for an aerospace vehicle includes a star camera system, a gyroscope system, a controller system for synchronously integrating an output of said star...
|
|
|
7198232 |
Optimal speed management for reaction wheel control system and method
A spacecraft attitude control system and method in which an attitude controller is configured for sensing three-dimensional attitude of the spacecraft, and producing torque signals for stabilizing...
|
|
|
7185855 |
Method and system for steering a momentum control system
A momentum-control system comprising a plurality of momentum actuators and a platform upon which the plurality of momentum actuators are mounted. The momentum control system further comprises a...
|
|
|
7152495 |
System and method for adaptive cancellation of disturbances
A disturbance-cancellation system and method is provided that facilitates the adaptive cancellation of periodic disturbances. The disturbance-cancellation system and method includes a pair of...
|
|
|
7130744 |
Method for determining and compensating the scale factor error caused by a wavelength change in a GPS-based inertial navigation system
In a GPS-supported inertial attitude and heading reference system equipped with a Kalman correction filter and a multiple axis fiber optic gyroscope, the invention provides for only that scale...
|
|
|
7097140 |
System and method for spacecraft attitude control
A momentum management system for attitude control of a spacecraft includes a housing to be fixed to the spacecraft and a momentum wheel rotor in the housing for storing angular momentum. A gimbal...
|
|
|
7078880 |
Energy storage flywheel voltage regulation and load sharing system and method
A system for regulating the voltage in an electrical distribution system includes a plurality of flywheels, motor/generators, and controllers. Each of the motor/generators is coupled to one of the...
|
|
|
7057734 |
Integrated reaction wheel assembly and fiber optic gyro
The present invention relates to a reaction wheel assembly and fiber optic gyro device. The device includes a reaction wheel assembly having a reaction wheel assembly housing, a fiber optic gyro...
|
|
|
7014150 |
Method and system for optimizing torque in a CMG array
A momentum-control system for a spacecraft is disclosed. The momentum-control system comprises an attitude-control system. The attitude-control system receives data concerning a desired spacecraft...
|
|
|
6990396 |
Method and apparatus for reaction wheel dynamic compensation in long-duration deployment of a large reflector
A method and an apparatus for controlling the attitude and momentum of a spacecraft while deploying an appendage from the spacecraft. The method comprises the steps of predicting an environmental...
|
|
|
6883757 |
System and method for increasing the roll offset operating range for a spacecraft
A method for increasing the roll offset operating range for a spacecraft using an earth sensor operating in single scan mode includes the steps of moving the spacecraft to a first roll position,...
|
|
|
6850737 |
Antenna direction finding in mobile phones
The present invention describes a communication system comprising a primary radio station (PS) and at least one secondary radio station (SS), intended to be in motion (MOT). The secondary radio...
|
|
|
6845952 |
Flywheel prognostic health and fault management system and method
A prognostic health and fault management system and method that accurately determines the health and rate of degradation of one or more flywheel systems, by comparing actual and simulated responses...
|
|
|
6779759 |
Integrated power and attitude control system and method
An integrated power and attitude control system that includes a plurality of flywheels and a controller. The controller receives power commands and attitude commands and determines the optimum set...
|
|
|
6775599 |
Multi-function reaction wheel assemblies for controlling spacecraft attitude
A plurality of sensors provide spacecraft attitude signals to reaction wheel assemblies which provide converted signals to a flight controller that controls the reaction wheel assemblies. The...
|
|
|
6772978 |
Dynamic unbalance compensation system and method
A dynamic unbalance compensation system that compensates for dynamic unbalance of a rotating assembly on a vehicle, such as a spacecraft, to compensate for the presence of a dynamic unbalance...
|
|
|
6758444 |
Momentum control system and method
A momentum control system and method is provided that provides attitude control for a vehicle while minimizing the negative effects of the momentum control system. The momentum control system and...
|
|
|
6691955 |
Spacecraft having a momentum wheel configuration that prevents zero wheel speeds
A momentum wheel configuration that may be used on a spacecraft having a momentum bias that prevents zero wheel speeds. The momentum wheel configuration comprises three or more momentum wheels. The...
|
|
|
6682019 |
Minimum energy wheel configurations for energy storage and attitude control
A satellite energy and attitude control system includes a first energy wheel, a second energy wheel and a third energy wheel. The first energy wheel is mounted in a first double gimbal and the...
|
|
|
6681649 |
Inertial control and measurement system
An inertial control and measurement system is provided for applying inertial control to a vehicle and measuring angular rate of the vehicle. The system includes a control moment gyroscope having a...
|
|
|
6681159 |
Spacecraft methods and structures with enhanced attitude control that facilitates gyroscope substitutions
Methods and structures are provided that enhance attitude control during gyroscope substitutions by insuring that a spacecraft's attitude control system does not drive its absolute-attitude sensors...
|
|
|
6679457 |
Reaction wheel system with vernier control rotor
A reaction wheel system is provided that includes at least two rotors. The first rotor is the primary rotor that provides the large output torques to the vehicle. The second rotor is a vernier...
|
|
|
6648274 |
Virtual reaction wheel array
An attitude control system (ACS) for a spacecraft includes an attitude control assembly (ACA) interface, a control moment gyro (CMG) array and a reaction wheel assembly (RWA) control unit. The ACA...
|
|
|
6634604 |
Method for operation of a rotating space vehicle with varying rotation
A method for operating a space vehicle equipped with at least one device cooperating with a celestial body, wherein rotation of the space vehicle takes place around at least one axis of the space...
|
|
|
6622969 |
Maneuver device for artificial satellite
The present invention provides a maneuver device for an artificial satellite, which causes small attitude error during maneuver and which requires a shorter period of setting time for obtaining a...
|
|
|
6609037 |
Gimbal pointing vector stabilization control system and method
A hybrid stabilization system for isolating a pointing vector of a gimbal from the motion of a vehicle base is provided. The hybrid stabilization control system includes a rate feedback loop...
|
|
|
6577929 |
Miniature attitude sensing suite
The present invention provides methods of and apparatus for determining the inertial attitude of an aerospace vehicle. In one embodiment, the invention provides a rotational astronomical...
|
|
|
6568291 |
Shaftless gyrostabilizer
A gyrostabilizer without a physical shaft or axle is constructed. The stabilizer has dual counter-revolving concentric rings filled with weights such as spherical balls that are propelled in...
|
|
|
6550721 |
Safing mode for high momentum states in body stabilized spacecraft
A spacecraft with a reaction wheel system can be autonomously safed by setting the solar wings to continuous tracking, determining a slew rate vector based on the total angular momentum, and...
|
|
|
6536713 |
Method of controlling or stabilizing the attitude of a vehicle in space
A method of controlling the attitude of a vehicle in space relative to three reference axes, the method consisting: initially in adjusting the attitude of the vehicle in conventional manner to...
|
|
|
6523785 |
Reaction wheel desaturation apparatus
The present invention provides an attitude control actuation apparatus and method to perform reaction wheel desaturation. Two or more reaction wheels are used for each of the three axis. The two...
|
|
|
6517029 |
Friction and stiction compensation for spacecraft attitude control
A spacecraft attitude control system that enables friction and stiction compensation for attitude control of a spacecraft using at least one reaction wheels that can spin through zero rpm without...
|
|
|
6515221 |
Modular reaction wheel assembly to shield electronics on a satellite
Reaction wheels are placed around an enclosure so that the reaction wheel rotors provide a radiation shield for electronic components inside the enclosure.
|
|
|
6499699 |
Satellite attitude control system and method
A satellite attitude control system includes a programmed processor system which includes a gyroscopic actuator first control stage for changing the attitude of the satellite and a reaction wheel...
|
|
|
6496779 |
Inertial measurement unit with magnetometer for detecting stationarity
A device for measuring a velocity and/or position of a body includes a magnetometer and a measurement unit. The magnetometer is configured to sense a magnetic flux to which the body is exposed. The...
|
|
|
6456907 |
System and method for limiting the effects of actuator saturation to certain body axes of a spacecraft
Systems and methods that limit the effects of actuator saturation to certain body axes of a spacecraft. A plurality of actuators, or momentum wheels, disposed on the spacecraft are oriented...
|
|
|
6454218 |
Integrated system for providing 3-axis attitude-control, energy-storage, and electrical power
An integrated system for providing 3-axis attitude-control, energy-storage, and electrical power in which two counter-rotating inertia-wheels are tandem mounted with rotational axis oriented on and...
|
|
|
6448940 |
Triple reflector antenna deployment and storage systems
An antenna deployment system for use in storing and deploying three antennas that are located on the same side of a spacecraft or other fixed body. The three antennas are nested and are stacked in...
|