Minimizing spacecraft attitude disturbances in space manipulator systems

Abstract

This paper presents a technique called the Enhanced Disturbance Map to plan space manipulator motions that will result in relatively low spacecraft disturbances. This subject is of significant concern because future robotic systems used in space may encounter problems due to the dynamic disturbances imposed on their spacecraft by their manipulator motions. Although a spacecraft's attitude control reaction jets can compensate for these dynamic disturbances, jet fuel is a limited resource and excessive disturbances would limit the life of a system. The Enhanced Disturbance Map can aid in understanding this complex problem and in the development of algorithms to reduce disturbances, including ones that use manipulator redundancy to eliminate the disturbances.