Momentum wheels and reaction wheels for objects in space
A spacecraft has a flat antenna array having an edge and a middle portion. A reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheel is coupled to the antenna array to roll and/or pitch the antenna array in small magnitudes. The reconfigurable reaction-momentum has a reaction operating state or mode (high-torque, low momentum) and a momentum operating state or mode (low-torque, high momentum). A thruster is coupled to the antenna array to move the antenna array.
1. A spacecraft comprising:
an antenna element;
one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels coupled to the antenna element and operable to roll or pitch the antenna element, wherein each reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheel of the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels is tilted towards at least two planes of a three-dimensional plane; and
a thruster coupled to the antenna element and operable to move the antenna element.
2. The spacecraft of claim 1 , the flat antenna element having an edge, and the spacecraft further comprising a housing coupled to the edge of the antenna element, the housing enclosing the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels.
3. The spacecraft of claim 2 , the thruster coupled to said housing.
4. The spacecraft of claim 1 , wherein the thruster is operable to provide a first magnitude thrust and wherein each reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheel of the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels is operable to provide a second magnitude thrust that is smaller than the first magnitude thrust.
5. The spacecraft of claim 1 , wherein the antenna element comprises a flat antenna element included in an antenna assembly having a plurality of flat antenna elements.
6. The spacecraft of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of flat antenna elements forming an antenna array having a middle portion, and a housing coupled at the middle portion of the antenna array and enclosing the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels.
7. A communication system comprising:
a phase array having a plurality of common antenna elements coupled together having a thin planar structure, the phase array having an outer portion;
a control device having a housing coupled to the outer portion of the phase array;
one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels contained in the housing and operable to rotate or pitch the phase array structure, wherein each reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheel of the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels is tilted towards at least two planes of a three-dimensional plane; and
one or more thrusters coupled to the housing and operable to move the phase array structure in a plurality of directions.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the control device comprises a satellite.
9. The system of claim 7 , further comprising a control processor in the housing, the control processor operating the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels and the one or more thrusters.
10. The system of claim 7 , further comprising one or more sensors operable to detect a position or orientation of the phase array structure.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the control processor operates the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels and the one or more thrusters based on the detected position or orientation of the phase array structure.
12. The system of claim 7 , the control device is operable to control a deployed structure in space for attitude changes and precision attitude control.
13. The system of claim 7 , the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels having a first mode that provides attitude control.
14. The system of claim 13 , the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels having a second mode that provides attitude changes greater than the first mode.
15. The system of claim 7 , system having attitude offset recoveries using four chemical thrusters.
16. The system of claim 7 , one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels operable to provide momentum cancellation with torque, based on mission phase need.
17. The spacecraft of claim 1 , wherein each reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheel of the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels is tilted at an angle based on moments of inertia of a flight path of the spacecraft.
18. The spacecraft of claim 1 , wherein each reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheel of the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels is tilted at an angle from 30 degrees to 70 degrees.
19. The spacecraft of claim 1 , wherein the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels are arranged in a pyramid configuration.
20. The spacecraft of claim 1 , wherein the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels comprise at least four reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels arranged in a pyramid configuration.
21. The spacecraft of claim 1 ,
wherein the three-dimensional plane comprises an X-plane representing a roll axis, a Y-plane representing a pitch axis, and a Z-plane representing a yaw axis, and
wherein each reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheel of the one or more reconfigurable reaction-momentum wheels is tilted towards the X-plane and the Y-plane.