Thruster direction controlling of assembled spacecraft based on gimbal suspension

The attitude control system design and its control effect are affected considerably by the mass-property parameters of the spacecraft. In the mission of on-orbit servicing, as fuel is expended, or the payloads are added or removed, the center of mass will be changed in certain axe; consequently, some thrusters＇ directions are deviated from the center of mass（CM） in certain plane. The CM of assembled spacecraft estimation and thruster direction control are studied. Firstly, the attitude dynamics of the assembled spacecraft is established based on the Newton-Euler method. Secondly, the estimation can be identified by the least recursive squares algorithm. Then, a scheme to control the thrusters＇ directions is proposed. By using the gimbal installed at the end of the boom, the angle of the thruster is controlled by driving the gimbal; therefore, thrusters can be directed to the CM again. Finally, numerical simulations are used to verify this scheme. Results of the numerical simulations clearly show that this control scheme is rational and feasible.