Compensation of time-variable magnetic moments for a precise attitude control in nano- and micro-satellite missions

Theses days, many nano- and micro-satellites are applied to several astronomy and remote sensing missions. In order to achieve mission requirements, these satellites must control the attitude precisely. A magnetic disturbance is one of the dominant sources of attitude disturbances. Therefore, this disturbance should be canceled in-orbit or on the ground to achieve the attitude strict requirements. This paper presents the effect of the magnetic disturbance to the attitude in nano- and micro-satellite missions and the sources of the residual magnetic moment of the satellites, which causes the magnetic disturbance. Then, the paper proposes a method to compensate the residual magnetic moment both in-orbit and in the design phase of the satellites. The research also focused on a time-varying residual magnetic moment. Finally, the method is applied to a micro-astrometry satellite as an example. (C) 2011 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.