Attitude Determination and Control for a Small Remote Sensing Satellite

In this paper, a fully autonomous magnetic attitude control system is proposed for a small satellite for remote sensing applications. The attitude determination hardware consists of a horizon sensor and a pair of two-axis magnetometers. Three-axis attitude control is performed by means of three magnetic torquers. Control laws are derived separately for the attitude acquisition and the station keeping phases. The proposed control strategy is then tested by using a numerical code which simulates the satellite orbit and attitude dynamics and control, and the sensor measurement errors. Final results show that the proposed magnetic control system limits the attitude angles and rates within values adequate to low/medium resolution remote sensing applications.