Preliminary modeling and control study of an asymmetric teledesic communication satellite

Abstract This paper presents a preliminary modeling and control design study of an asymmetric teledesic communication satellite (TCS). The goal of this study is to develop a dynamic satellite model and design a corresponding controller based on this model. The main control objective posed in this paper is to maintain the precise attitude of the satellite. The problem of dynamic modeling of the asymmetric satellite is described, and control philosophy is discussed. The paper also considers the persistent disturbance problem which is caused by thermal excitation of the outboard solar panel. This is followed by an identification and discussion of what are considered to be the most serious problems and pitfalls identified during the course of the study.