Disturbance reduction on the small satellite actuator

Abstract

High speed rotating actuators like reaction wheels or control moment gyros are generally used for spacecraft attitude control. Torque and force disturbances are inherent in this type of actuators. Major disturbances are mainly due to static and dynamic imbalances. These imbalances must be reduced since they degrade the control quality of spacecraft attitude. This paper gives attention to the reduction of the static imbalance. A reaction wheel for small satellite is considered. Torque/force measurement table is used to measure the disturbance of the reaction wheel. An identification method for the location and magnitude of the imbalance is suggested, and the corrections of the imbalance are performed using balancing method. Through balancing, the static imbalance is remarkably reduced.