Angular Momentum Based Steering Approach for Control Moment Gyroscopes*

With increasing requirements on agile satellite missions, control moment gyroscopes (CMGs) become the actuator of choice due to their high torque amplification capability. In order to handle their inherent singularity issues, many steering laws have been developed that map a desired torque profile to a commanded gimbal rate profile. As CMGs are internal momentum exchange devices, alternative steering laws exist in the angular momentum/gimbal angle domain. In this paper, the two steering approaches are analyzed conceptually and their performance regarding the handling of singularities is evaluated in simulations. For a CMG array in roof configuration, the angular momentum/gimbal angle steering approach proves to be a viable choice for attitude control tasks.