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Influence of thermal distortion on the anomalous behavior of a gravity gradient satellite

Consideration of the problem of determining the influence of solar heating on the low-frequency dynamic stability of a gravity-gradient satellite. The scope of the effort includes the development of a computer program that uses a quasi-static approach for describing a satellite's unsteady orbital motion. The essential feature of the quasi-static approach is that the satellite's long, slender booms reach their thermal equilibrium position solely as a result of thermal bending without consideration of the dynamic effects of boom vibration. A nonlinear analytical model and a corresponding computer program have been developed to study the effect of absorptivity, sun angle, and hinge stiffness on the stability of a satellite's motion.

Goldman, R. L.

Instability of a gravity gradient satellite due to thermal distortion

A nonlinear analytical model and a corresponding computer program were developed to study the influence of solar heating on the anomalous low frequency, orbital instability of the Naval Research Laboratory's gravity gradient satellite 164. The model's formulation was based on a quasi-static approach in which deflections of the satellite's booms were determined in terms of thermally induced bending without consideration of boom vibration. Calculations, which were made for variations in absorptivity, sun angle, thermal lag, and hinge stiffness, demonstrated that, within the confines of a relatively narrow stability criteria, the quasi-static model of NRL 164 not only becomes unstable, but, in a number of cases, responses were computed that closely resembled flight data.

Goldman, R. L.