PERIODIC SOLUTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH GRAVITY-GRADIENT-ORIENTED SYSTEM .2. STABILITY ANALYSIS

Stability of the periodic solutions associated with planar librations of a gravity-oriented satellite is studied using linear perturbation analysis. It is shown that the initial conditions which do not lead to exactly periodic response still may permit the motion to remain in the neighborhood of the periodic solution. The stability criterion requires the motion to lie on a surface in the phase space which always surrounds the periodic solution and has an elliptic cross section. Perturbations along hyperbolas suggest instability. The stability chart in parameter space, for periodic solutions of orbital frequency, is also presented. © 1969 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., All rights reserved.