Attitude Control of Spacecraft with Rotational Dynamic Inertia: MPC for a Three-Ring Architecture

This paper presents an advanced attitude control strategy for spacecraft featuring a three-ring architecture with rotational dynamic inertia. In modern spacecraft missions, traditional thrusters aren't precise enough for agile orientation control and rely on limited propellant. In this study, we introduce a Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework that actively compensates for disturbances caused by rotating rings in a spacecraft's structure. The dynamic mass redistribution due to the rotation of these rings induces nonlinear gyroscopic coupling and time-varying inertia, which makes the attitude control more complex. The proposed solution effectively manages the varying moments of inertia, ensuring the spacecraft reaches and maintains its desired attitude with minimal reliance on reaction wheels. A simulation study is conducted to demonstrate the performance of the MPC-based control system, highlighting the system's ability to achieve desired orientation while maintaining low angular velocity, energy efficiency, and robustness to external disturbances.