Diseño Avanzado de Vehículos Espaciales (DAVE) Problems set on Attitude Dynamics and Control (ADC)

Mechanics
Problems
Problem ADC.1. You would like to generate Mars gravity (3.8 m/ s2 ) in the transit habitat for the trip
to and from Mars.

1. If the crew can tolerate 3 rotations per minute, what is the required radius of spin for the habitat? [1]
2. The habitat has two decks, 2 m apart. If the system is designed to provide Mars gravity at the upper
deck, what is the gravity at the lower deck? [1]

Angular Motion and Attitude Control

Problems
Problem ADC.2. A satellite in a circular geocentric orbit of 300 km altitude has a mass of 1500 kg,
and the moment of inertia relative to a body frame with origin at the center of mass is:
 
2000 −1000 2500
I = −1000 3000 −1500 kg m2 . (1)
2500 −1500 4000
The angular velocity in this frame of reference is:
 
1
ω = −0.9 rad/ s. (2)
1.5
Compute:
1. the translational kinetic energy [1]
2. the rotational kinetic energy [1]
3. the total kinetic energy [1]
4. why is the translational kinetic energy term so much bigger than the rotational one? [1]

Angular Motion and Attitude Control

Problems
Problem ADC.3. A uniform rectangular box has a mass of 1000 kg and sides lx = 3 m, ly = 2 m,
lz = 1 m. Calculate the moment of inertia w/r to the center of mass. [1]

Angular Motion and Attitude Control

Problems
Problem ADC.4. Relative to a body-xed xyz frame, the moment of inertia of a body is:
 
10 0 0
I =  0 20 0  kg m2 (3)
0 0 30
while the angular velocity as a function of time is:
 2
2t 1/ s2


ω =  4  rad/ s. (4)
3t 1/ s
Show:
1. the form of Euler equations [2]
2. the generic expression of L [1]
3. its value when t = 3 s [1]

Michele Armano  UEM  Máster Universitario en Ingeniería Aeroespacial (MUIA) 2023.03.10  1/2
Diseño Avanzado de Vehículos Espaciales (DAVE) Problems set on Attitude Dynamics and Control (ADC)

Angular Motion and Attitude Control

Problems
Problem ADC.5. A rigid body is moving around its center of mass with angular velocity:
 
10
ω = 20 rad/ s. (5)
30

The moment of inertia is:  

20 −10 0
I = −10 30 0  kg m2 (6)
0 0 40
Compute:

1. the angular momentum [1]

2. the rotational kinetic energy. [1]

Angular Motion and Attitude Control

Problems
Problem ADC.6. Recall the formula from the text tying the three Euler angles variation in the case
of nutation when Ixx = Iyy :
Ixx
ψ̇ = ϕ̇ (7)
(Ixx − Izz ) cos θ
If the angular velocity is identied as ω = ϕ̇ = 2π rad/ min, and ωp = ψ̇ is the precession rate, assuming
that the moment of inertia is that of a thick disk with l = 3 m and r = 1 m and that the nutation angle is
θ = 20 deg, how long does it take for the body to precess by 180 deg? [3]

Angular Motion and Attitude Control

Problems
Problem ADC.7. As long as they are computed w/r to the same point and in the same coordinates
sets, moments of inertia can be summed like masses:

Itotal = Ibody1 + Ibody2 + . . . (8)

Assume a spacecraft is modelled by a cylinder with h = 3 m, r = 1.2 m and mass of 500 kg and a sphere with
r = 1.9 m and mass of 700 kg. The bodies have common center of mass.

1. Compute the total moment of inertia. [2]

2. Around which of the principal axes x, y, and z will stable torque-free rotation occur? [1]

Michele Armano  UEM  Máster Universitario en Ingeniería Aeroespacial (MUIA) 2023.03.10  2/2