About stability of satellite equilibrium

under gravitational and aerodynamic moments

Elena K.Duarte

Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

V.A.Sarychev

Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics

Miusskaya pl., 4, Moscow, 125047, Russia

 

The sufficient conditions of the stability of equilibrium states of satellite with consideration of gravitational and aerodynamic moments in a circular orbit were obtained by the second method of Lyapunov. In this paper the stability domains were determined for all equilibrium states for such satellites and the changes of these domains under influence of these moments were analyzed.

For satellites moving on a circular orbit with consideration of gravitational and aerodynamic moments with centre of pressure on one of the principal central axes of inertia, there are at least 8 and no more than 24 isolated equilibrium. Stability domains corresponding to sufficient conditions for stability of all equilibrium orientations of such satellites were obtained by V.A.Sarychev and S.A.Mirer. In this work sufficient conditions for stability of equilibrium are analyzed and simplified, and the influence of the magnitude of the aerodynamic torque and inertial satellite parameters on the stability domains of satellite are studied.