Journal 01 SOilcetrall and Rockets

VOLUME 6 MARCH 1969 NUMBER 3

A Description of the CMG and Its Application to

Space Vehicle Control
B. J. O ’ ~ O N N O RAND
* L. A. n/IORINEt
The Bendix Corporation, Teterboro, N . J .

Requirements for high pointing accuracies during long missions of large spacecraft make
the use of momentum exchange devices in control systems attractive for the following reasons:
1) continuous control, 2) recoverable energy source, 3) efficient control of cyclic disturbances,
and 4) ease of propellant management. Of the momentum exchange devices, control moment
gyros (CMG’s) have the following advantages over reaction wheels for large spacecraft: better
efficiency, larger output moments, better bandwidth and dynamic range, and greater range of
linearity. In this paper, particular emphasis is placed on development and implementation
of CMG control laws for the Apollo Telescope Mount control system. The kinematic equa-
tions of motion for the CMG’s are combined with their servo characteristics to describe their
rigid-body dynamics.

Nomenclature Introduction
electronic cross compensation
ccc
G1(P), G 3 ( P )
H
=
=
=
electronic stabilization network
angiilar momentum
NEWTON’S second law of angular motion states that the
total external moment M acting on a system is propor-
t’ional to the time rat.e of change of angular momentum of t.he
J = polar moment of inertia subscripted for system Hs with respect to inertial space:
specific valiies
Ki, K3 = d.c. gains of G1(P) and G3(P),respectively
M~c-A) = moment exerted on the inner gimbal by the M = (Hs)i (1)
outer gimbal If the system momentum consists of vehicle and control
ME = electromagnetic moment momenta HVand Hr, then integrating Eq. (1) yields
MR = MR(c--B)= reaction moment of a CMG on the vehicle
6, 6 = gimbal angle and angular rate JMdt = HE = HT + H v - Hsoi (2)
E = error momentiim = H T -~H~T
wz., wz = gimbal rates relative to vehicle and inertial where Hso+is the initial value for the syst.em. If the con-
space, respectively troller does not expel mass, then changes in HT can be used t o
balance M as well as to change the spacecraft attitude by
Subscripts varying Hv.
-4, B, C = inner and outer gimbal spaces aiid base The use of momentum exchange is desirable for the follow-
space, respectively ing reasons: 1) continuous control, 2 ) a recoverable energy
I, = inertial (nonrotating) aiid vehicle spaces, source, 3 ) efficient control of cyclic disturbances, and 4) ease in
respectively management of propellant expulsion for continuous distur-
j = j t h CMG bances. Items 1 and 2 result from the use of electrical energy
K = commanded as the prime source of power. From Eq. (2) it can be seen
s = system that the momentum-exchange device can handle cyclic
T = total, for CMG cluster
= 1 and 3 pivots (inner and outer gimbals), re- torques on a continuous basis over long time periods. Constant
1, 3
spectively (see Fig. 2) external moments will saturate the momentum-exchange de-
vice, requiring the removal of momentum by use of ambient
Presented as Paper 67-589 at the AIAA Guidance and Flight fields (e.g., the gravity gradient) or the expulsion of propel-
Dynamics Conference, Huntsville, Ala., August 14-16, 1967; lants; however, the propellant expulsion can be accomplished
submitted October 3, 1967; revision received November 6, 1968. at convenient times.
The writers wish to acknowledge the technical assistance of the Momentum control is implemented presently by reaction
following people for the preparation of this paper: P. R. Kurzhals
of Langley Research Center, and S. Seltzer, D. Schultz, C. Man- wheels or control moment gyros (CMG’s). A reaction wheel
del, and H. Thomason of Marshall Space Flight Center. has a high-inertia rotor that can be accelerat.ed by a n electro-
* Assistant General Manager, Navigation and Control Divi- magnetic motor. A torque that changes the device’s angular
sion. Associate Fellow AIAA. momentum reacts on the vehicle through the motor’s electro-
f Senior Engineer, Navigation and Control Division. Member magnetic field. By contrast, a gimballed CMG wheel ro-
ATAA. tates at constant speed (providing a const.ant angular-momen-
225
226 B. J. O'CONNOR AND L. A. MORINE
SURFACE OF
MAXIMUM
MOMENTUM
IHI I 1% I
= lent in base space is
"1
Fig. 1 Variable momentum effect of t w o CMG's, and
momentum volume.
tum magnitude), but is capable of variable orientation rela-
tive to the spacecraft. A single const'ant-momentum-mag-
nitude device is not sufficient, however; Eq. (2) requires a
change in magnitude as well as direction of HT. Thus, two or
more CMG's are needed (see Fig. la). The maximum mo-
mentum possible in the system is obtained when all CMG
momentum vect,ors are parallel, and thus momentum ex-
change is possible for all CMG cluster momenta within a
momentum volume (Fig. lb). The shape of this volume de-
pends on the particular CMG cluster configuration, and the
condition of saturat'ion is the surface of this volume.
A cluster of CMG's offers the following advantages over a
reaction wheel when large maximum moments are required
for control of a large vehicle: I) the CMG wheel operates a t
one speed for which the efficiency can be optimized; 2) larger
maximum-moment control is obtained easily wit'h modest
turning rates of the large constant momentum (without great
complexity, t,orque ranges of 2000: 1 can be obtained); 3)
better bandwidt'h characteristics are obtained from an angu-
lar velocity-t'ype gimbal servo (the reaction wheel rotor time
constant is large bccause of its physical characteristics and
thus 1imit.s it's bandwidth); and 4) a linear approach toward
saturation is possible, since the gimbal control rates never
approach a saturat'ed st,atc. (The reaction wheel as it ap-
proaches its maximum rate tends t o become iionliiiear.)
A double-gimbal CMG is a two-degree-of-freedom gyro-
scopic device (Fig. 2 ) comprising a constant-speed wheel held
in an inner gimbal, which is coupled to an outer gimbal
through the (I) pivot perpendicular to the wheel spin vector.
The outer gimbal is held to the base through the (3) pivot per-
pendicular to the (1) pivot. The (1) and (3) pivots are
driven by geared d.c. motor torquers.
The inner gimbal ( A j space), outer gimbal (Cy space),
and base (Bj space) coordinate systems are defined in Fig. 2;
all spaces are parallel when the pivot angles are zero, as
shown. The (1) pivot angle, Slj, is positive when t,he j t h
CMG inner gimbal is rotated in a positive direction about the
l l a j coordinate vector. The (3) pivot angle, S3j, is positive
when t h e j t h CMG out'er gimbal is rotated in a posit'ive direc-
Fig. 2 Double-gimbal CMG.
J. SPACECRAFT
tion about the 1 S c j coordinate vector. The matrix that trans-
forms a vector fromjth CMG inner gimbal space t'o its equiva-
[::i::] [
HaBj
=
CS3j
S83j
0
[-s83jcSlj] [SSajsSlj]
[CS8jCSljl[C83jS81jl
SSlj CSlj
] [Z] x (3)
where c = cosine and s 3 sine.
The CMG gimbal motion can be controlled by one of t,he
following basic modes (control variables) : torque, rate, or
position. I n the torque mode, current is applied to the pivot
torquers, and the resulting torque is balanced by a reaction
torque caused by the gyroscopic action; hence, a reaction
moment is applied to the vehicle. This mode is open-loop
and degenerates if there is appreciable friction on the gimbal
pivots, and thus is basically not. usable. The rat,e mode can
be implemented in a closed-loop manner via rate servo: the
CMG momentum vector is made to rotate at a commanded
rate, and a reaction torque, MR = -a X H, is thus produced
by gyroscopic action. This mode is implemeqted easily in
analog form and is used for the Apollo Telescope Mount
(ATM) CMG's. In the posit.ion mode, the gimbal pivot,
angles are controlled to match the calculated desired gimbal
angles; since calculat.ion of the desired gimbal angles is com-
plex, this mode is not desirable.
A typical attitude control system (Fig. 3) with CMG ac-
tuators (which basically defines the ATM control system)2 is
a position servo with attitude rate stabilization. The (opti-
cal) position sensor measures the error between the actual
vehicle attitude and the desired attitude. This error is com-
bined with the vehicle angular rate in the vehicle cont.ro1law,
which is basically a proportional-plus-differential controller
and determines the desired command moment MK to be ap-
plied to the vehicle. The command moment is processed by
the CMG cont'rol law, the output's of which provide the input
commands to the CMG gimbal servos. The latter commands
drive the individual morneiitum vectors of each CMG. The
resulting reaction moments are forcing functions that change
the vehicle attitude and attitude rate, thereby closing the
control loop. Thus, two system funct.ions involve the CMG:
t'he CMG control-loop function, which consists of the CMG
control law and the CMG configuration that will effect de-
sired command moments on the vehicle; and the momentum
management function, which consists of aheration of the ex-
ternal moment (and hence the external moment'um) acting on
the vehicle so that the CMG cluster momentum remains in-
side its momentum envelope.
Properties of the CMG control law and CMG configura-
tions can vary radically depending on the app1ication.l
Generally, the desired total transfer functions for both CMG
blocks in Fig. 3 satisfy the identity M K = Mv. Physically,
CHG ATTITUOE RATES
I
ATTITUOE MOMENT CONTROL
CONflCURATION
RCFERENCE
@ MANAGEMENT
I
I 1 SATURATION
MEASUREMENT I
VEHICLE ATTITUDE
I
Fig. 3 Vehicle attitude control with CMG's.
MARCH 1969 THE CMG AND SPACE VEHICLE CONTROL 227

Izv +
Izv

atg I n

c ) One double-gimbal and one single-gimbal CMG

a) Three single-gimbal CMG’s

YV
I Yv

I
H

b) T h e e single-gimbal CMG pairs d) Two double-gimbal CMG’s

Fig. 4 Some basic configurations for 3-axis control.

this is acconiplished by the cross moments from one CMG configuration from zero time, and HTCMG0+is the initial mo-
being cancelled by another CMG in the cluster configuration mentum state of the CIVIC configuration. Let us define
with a net resultant moment equal to the command moment. +
H T = HTCMGHTCMGo+, and H K = -HK.
~ ~ Then~ Eq.
Complete caiicellation usually is not practical because of (5) becomes
t.radeoffs involving size, weight, power, simplicity of control
HT = -HK = H K ~ ~ ~ (6)
law (major cause of cross coupling), momentum utilization (a
function of expected moment disturbances), degree of re-
dundancy required by the system, the number of axes to be
controlled, and the expected external disturbances (sizing).
The configurations that exhibit good momentum utilization
(Le., allow the total momentum to be directed along any
axes) generally require a more complicated control law to re-
duce cross coupling. Figures 4 and 5 illustrate five of the
many basic configurations that can be considered for 3-axis
control, and Table 1 compares these configurations in terms
of system considerations.
The perfect cont.rol law produces a reaction moment from
t,he CMG, MB, equal to the command moment: ME = MK.
This equation can be implemented either by open- or closed-
loop techniques on either a moment basis:

or momentum basis:
HK - H T C ~ G - H T C M G O + (5)
Fig. 5 The Sixpac configuration of 3 double-gimbal CMG’s
where H T C M G
is the change in momentum state of the CMG designed for the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) system.
228 B. J. O’CONNOR AND L. A. MORINE J. SPACECRAFT

Table 1 Comparison of CMG configurations of Figs. 5 and

6 with constraints for 3-axis control
Size Redmi-
Config- and Alomentum dancy,
uratioiia weight6 Powerc utilizationd %d

Fig. 4a 2 1.5 67% each axis 0

Fig. 4b 5 3 33% each axis 100
Fig. 4c 1 1 100% for 2 axes 0
50% for 1 axis
Fig. 4d 3 1 100% for all axes 2.5
Fig. 5 4 1.5 100% for all axes 100

a On the figures, SCMG means single-gimbal CMG; CMG means double-

Fig. 6 Apollo Space Station, courtesy of Marshall Space
Flight Center.
The forms of the control laws or combinations of control laws
will depend on the particular CMG cluster configurations.
A simple method of momentum management is to use a re-
action control system, but mission life is limited because of
the expulsion of fuel. A more attractive method is to use
ambient fields such as the gravity gradient, aerodynamic,
magnetic field, etc. to alter the long-term momentum im-
pressed on the vehicle.
The first step in momentum management is saturation
measurement, i.e., the measurement of the controller mo-
mentum components in a given reference coordinate system
(usually the vehicle principle control axes) and the combining
of these components so as to determine and display the state
of the momentum controller relative to the controller momen-
tum volume. The complexity of this function varies widely
from simple limit switches to full momentum volume indica-
tion. The next step is to compute the desaturation necessary
to effect the desired momentum state to which the controller
is driven and to determine the initial and final desaturation
commands. The computations of the desired momentum
state can be as simple as commanding the total momentum to
zero (likely for random disturbances) or as sophisticated as
optimizing the momentum coiitrol capability by accounting
for past momentum profiles. Finally, the required desatura-
tion must be implemented. Simple schemes employ electri-
cal caging of each CMG gimbal angle in the controller cluster
t o a prescribed value. More sophisticated methods use the
control-loop fuiictioiis to drive the CMG’s, in concert, to at-
tain the desired momentum in a momentum feedback loop;
such a scheme is used in the ATM/CMG control system.
ATM/CMG Attitude Control System
The ATM pointing control system uses the Sixpac3 CMG
cluster configuration (Fig. 5 ; also referred to as the Langley
Configuration). Figure 6 depicts one of the ATM vehicle
gimbal CMG.
The soale is for comparison in proportion to actual weight of 1 CMG and
1 SCMG.
C This scale is for comparison in proportion t o actual power of 1 CMG and
1 SCMG.
d Percent of total momentum or (redundancy) of total control.
configurations. The three CMG’s of the Sixpac are oriented
with respect to the vehicle coordinates as shown in Figs. 5 and
6 when all gimbal angles are zero. This configuration pro-
vides full momentum utilization in any direction and allows
redundant operation consisting of any two CMG’s in the ac-
tive state and the third CMG not operating. The momentum
control that offers the least cross coupling and the least com-
plexity is implemented in the form of the H-vector control
law (Fig. 7 ) and can be used directly for desaturation with
minimal mode switching. The MKCMG is integrated to yield
an H K , , ~ ~The
. initial conditions are determined by the
momentum managemelit control. This command is com-
pared with the actual HT,and the error E is used as a modified
command CMG steering law to generate 6 rate commands to
alter the 3 CMG momentum vectors. The resulting gimbal
positions are used to determine the Hr that closes the loop.
For slowly varying commands, this control law approxi-
mates the ideal control law. It is an angular-momentum
position controller. Each component of MxcMGis integrated
separately to form the H K vector,
~ which
~ ~is compared to
its respective component of the total cluster HT to obtain E,
which is then processed by the CMG cross-product steering
law given for the j t h CMG by
O Y A ~= K,sL.H, X E (7)
The output of the steering law drives the CMG gimbal
velocity servos and alters HT so that E vanishes. The reac-
tion moment of an ideal cluster of CMG’s on the vehicle is
ME = - [dHr/dtv + ozv X Hrl (8)
where an ideal CMG is defined as one that has instantaneous
gimbal servo loops and no inertia reaction moments, and
where
3
H T E Hj (9)
3=1
If the vehicle rates are small, then O N X HTin Eq. (8) can
be neglected, and the reaction moment is expressed as

I-
MOMENTUM
MANAGEMENT

Since the angular-momentum vector of a CMG is constaiit in

INITIAL
CONDITION
Aj space, the time derivatives in Eq. (10) are zero, so that
MOMENT ON
VEHICLE MR 3

t ME = OVAX Hi (11)
j= 1

Substituting (6) into (lo), expanding the triple cross-

product terms, and assuming all CMG momentum magiii-
tudes to be H yields
I”
Fig. 7 HT-position control law.
RIARCH 1969 THE CMG AND SPACE VEHICLE CONTROL 229

Fig. 8 Implementation of the HT-position closed-loop controller.

An ideal first-order equation for the control of HTis tion. The components of HI, Hz,and H3in CMG base space
are then suitably connected to the X , Y , and 2 summing
dHtll./’dtv KE (13) amplifiers to account for their base orientations relative to the
This controller is stable and e is negligible if K is sufficiently vehicle reference frame. The output H T of each summing
large over the desired frequency range. amplifier is theii compared with input HTK to obtain that
Equations (12) and (13) are quite similar aiid the steady- component of E. (HTcan be used also as the controller mo-
state E for Eq. (12) will be negligible for all cases except when mentum measurement for the momentum management func-
all three vectors H,, Hz, and H3 are colinear. When this tion.) The vector e is transformed from vehicle space to each
CMG inner gimbal space, or “A” space by means of a resolver
occurs, H T is zero about one axis.
chain shown by the upper coordinate transformation to yield
Colinearity occurs when either all three CMG angular-
momentum vectors are aligned in the same direction (“323” 3
configuration) or when two are aligned and the third is in e = liAjEiAj j = 1, 2, 3 (15)
i=l
opposition to them. (“1H” configuration). The former ( 3 H )
configuration represents the CMG system a t its maximum Substitution of (15) into (7) yields the required inner gimbal
capacity, and it must be desaturated by utilization of con- rate of the j t h CMG:
trolled external moments. The 1H configuration is avoided
by the use of a distribution law4 which consists of bias rate O Y A K=
~ K s L ( ~ I A-
~ €~ s~A ~AE ~I A ~ ) (16)
commands on one or more of the CMG’s without changing where E ~ and
A ~ E ~ are
A ~ the input command signals to the (1)
H T. and (3) pivots of the j t h CMG.
The complete controller is diagrammed in Fig. 8. The The angular velocity of the inner gimbal of thejth CMG can
vectors HI, Hz, and H3 are first expressed in their respective be expressed as a function of relative gimbal angle rates as
CMG inner gimbal spaces as
H, =H1u3 j = 1,2,3 (14)
O Y A ~= +
1 1 ~ ~ 8 11 ~ ~ ~ sin8lj +
~ 6 s ~1 3 A j & j cos&, (17)
Assume that the jth CMG has two gimbal velocity servos
Each vector is transformed from its CMG inlier gimbal that are infinitely fast and described by
space to its base space by a resolver chain mounted on its
CMG pivots, as shown by the lower coordinate transfornia- 81j = K S L E ~ A ~83j = - K S L E I A ~ seeslj (18)
230 B. J. O'CONNOR AND L. A. MORINE
FRAME
INNER
FRAME
MOMENTS OF THE (11 AN0 (31 O C MOTOR
Fig. 9 Schematic of the (1) or (3) pivot torque motor.
Then, substitution of Eqs. (18) into Eq. (17) yields the iiiiier
gimbal rat.e of the j t h CMG
OVA? = KSL(~IA-
~ E~ ~ ZAtanSljclAj
~A ~ - 13AjE1Aj) (19)
As seen by Eqs. (18) and (19), the vectorsovAKiand OVA^ dif-
fer by the component. along the vector. This extra com-
ponent has no effect on the controller, as can be seen by the
equivalent expression resulting from the substitution of
either Eq. (16) or (19) into Eq. (11). Equations (12-18)
are implemented in the top half of Fig. 8. The secant term
can be approximated by a constant gain since the inner pivot
angle has a limited range of *7O0.
The H T controlIer can operate in a backup mode with any
two CMG's operating without major switching. When only
two units are operating, the open-loop gain of the controller
+
is only of that with three CMG's operating; however, the
total closed-loop gain is unaltered.
An alternative means of controlling the reaction moment
(momentum rate) on a spacecraft in either open-loop or
closed-loop fa,shion is to control directly the rate of change of
the controller momentum. The closed-loop control can be
obtained by differentiating the expression for e and following
similar steps to those given previously, yielding
Fig. 10 Electronic and kinematic signal flow graph of a double-gimbal CMG.
J. SPACECRAFT
The implementation of this H T control law exhibits superior
performance in a mariner similar to the HTcontrol law. The
equations for the open-loop-momentum-rate control law caii
be obtained by removing the feedback H T from Eq. (20), but
it suffers from wide gain variations and significant cross
coupling. The closed-loop form of the H T control law offers
no advantage over the closed-loop HT control law and re-
quires additional computation of H T for momentum manage-
meiit.
CMG Dynamic Characteristics
The kinematic equations of motion of a C-MG are deriv-
able directly from Newton's second law of angular motion,
given by
M = (&/&)I (23)
where L is the total angular momentum of the CMG including
that of the gear train. Performing the differentiation, assum-
ing a gear train, as shown in Fig. 9, and assuming that the
gyroscopic moments of the gimbals themselves are negligible
compared with the gyroscopic moments of the wheel, the
equations of motion of the CMG expressed in outer gimbal
space are given by
NgMm + J M R ( ~ + Ng)Ngbmc = +
J ~ ~ ~ I A I A
H sin&wzC2c- H C O S ? ~ , W ~ C , ~ (24)
NgiVJm + J M R (+~ Ng)NgbzBsB= H COS&WIA~A +
J3bz~2c + J B ~ z c(25)~ ~
where H is the magnitude of the wheel angular momentum,
N , is the pivot gear ratio, the subscript j has been dropped
since only one CMG is considered, X E ~JIE> , are the electro-
magnetic moments supplied by the (I) and (3) pivot torquers,
JIMRis the polar momeiit of inertia of the torquers about their
respective spin axes, and
MARCH 1969 THE CMG AND SPACE VEHICLE CONTROL 231

nates. The electronic transfer functions are shown by

dashed lines; the kinematic transfer functions by solid lines.
The numerical values of the parameters are as follows:
N = 2000 ft-lb-see, J l l , J 3 3 = 17.66 and 21.05 ft-lb-sec2, re-
spectively, N g = 56, G1(P) = 1575 (0.05P + 1)/(5P + 1)
ft-lb-sec/rad, G3(P) = 1925 (0.05P + 1)/(5P+ I) ft-lb-see/
rad, and G,,, = Gee3 = 0.707H = 1414 ft-lb-see. The re-
sponses of the. servo.loops can be obtained by solving these
equations for 61 and &; i.e.,
w IN RADIANSISEC 81/81, = NgG1(PJ33 + N,GS)/A (36)
and
m
0
83/83, = NQGa(PJn + N,Gl)/A (37)
Z -6
where the characteristic equation is given by
w

2 -12
A
I
4-18
OF VEHICLE ATTITUDE
The frequency responses of Eqs. (36) and (37) for the ATM
-24
w IN RA?DIANS/SEC
CMG without electronic cross coupling (G,,, = G,,, = 0),
. . and with electronic cross coupling set a t G,,, = G,,, = H cos
Fig. 11 Closed-loop frequency responses 81/81K without a) (a/4) = 0.707H1are shown in Fig. 11. Ideally, the electronic
and with b) cross compensation. cross coupling should be equal to H cos& for complete de-
coupling of the loop; however, because of the limited freedom
Ja = siii261[(J~33f Jo) - (Jazz f J R ) ] (28) of the inner gimbal (*70°), a constant electronic cross
coupling is desirable. If this cross coupling is set a t 0.707H,
where J R , Jo are the polar moments of inertia of the gyro the loops are sufficiently decoupled, as indicated in Fig. l l b .
wheel about its spiii axis and diameter axis, respectively;
J~11Jazz,, J A 3 3 are the polar moments of inertia of the inner
gimbal exclusive of the gyro wheel about the 1 1 ~ 1, 2 A , and 1 : ~
Conclusions
axes, respectively; Jca3 is the polar moment of inertia of the The efficiencies aiid dynamic characteristics of clusters of
outer gimbal only about the 13c axis; and U I A k a , U I C ~ ~ , two or more double-gimbal control-moment gyros (CMG’s)
u I B ~ B (k = 1, 2, 3) are the component angular rates of the make the use of momentum exchange a practical method for
iiiiier gimbal, outer gimbal, and base, respectively. accurate attitude control of large spacecraft over long periods
The reaction nioments of the CMG onto the base expressed of time. The particular cluster of CMG’s to be used will
in outer gimbal coordinates are given by depend on tradeoff considerations that involve size, weight,
. ~ ~ R ( c - R ) ~=
c - JlW1AlA - H Sill&WiCzC H COS8iWrcaC (29) power, allowable control-law complexity, momentum utiliza-
tion, degree of redundancy, etc. For the ATM application,
M R ( c - - B ) ~ C = H sinBiwiAla - J3Ljic3c (30) the Sixpac configuratioii of 3 double-gimbal CMG’s exhibits
the most desirable characteristics because of its redundancy
- M R ( c - - B ) ~ C = - H C O S ~ I W I A ~ A- J2Ljic8c (31) (100%), momentum utilization, and yet moderate size,
where weight, and power characteristics.
Extensive analyses of the control law for the ATMICMG
JI = Jii - Ng(1 + L V ~ ) J MJ zR ,= J33 - Ng(1 + Ng)Jlrr~ (32) control system indicate that either the closed-loop momentum
The equivalent moments expressed i n base space can be ob- vector position (HT)or closed-loop rate (HT) control laws is a
tained by transforming Eqs. (29-31) via a rotational trans- good choice for the CMG control laws. These control laws
formation about the I3c pivot. exhibit reasonably constant gain and minimum cross cou-
The ilTM CMG’s are controlled by forcing their gimbal pling. From an implementation standpoint, the HT control
angular rates to match command gimbal angle rates in a law requires less complexity and provides for a maximum
closed-loop manner. By defiiiitioii the gimbal ang rates are utilization of the hardware.

81 wiAlA - Wiclc 83 E ~zc,c- uiB8B (33) References

The electronic signals to the gimbal torquers are given by
1 “MORL Mechanical Systems, Volume XIV, Stabilization

ME, = G~(P)(&, - 8,) - (GCCl/Ng)83 (34) and Control,” Rept. SM46806, NASA Contract NAS 1-3612,
Sept. 1964, Douglas Aircraft Corp.
aiid 2 Seltzer, S., Schultz, D., and Chubb, W., “Attitude Control
and Precision Pointing of the Apollo Telescope Mount,” Journal
M R =~ G3(P)(&, - 83) + (Gcc,/Ng)81 (35) of Spacecraft and Rockets, Vol. 5, No. 8, Aug. 1968, pp. 896-909.
3 Kurzhals, P. R. and Grantham, C., “A System for In-
The terms involving G,,, and G,,, are electronic cross coupling ertial Experiment Pointing and Attitude Control,” T R R-247,
incorporated to isolate the two servo axes. 1965, NASA.
Figure 10 is a signal-flow diagram of the total system char- 4 Kennel, H., “Individual Angular Momentum Vector Dis-
acteristics described in Eqs. (24-35) and includes the expres- tribution arid Rotation Laws for Three Double-Gimballed Con-
sion of the reaction moments on the vehicle in base coordi- trol Moment Gyros,” TMX-53696, Jan. 1968, NASA.