CONTROLLERS FOR SPACE STRUCTURES

THE UNPRECEDENTED POINTING AND TRACKING ACCURACIES REQUIRED IN STRATEGIC DEFENSE ENGAGEMENT SCENARIOS PRESENT FORMIDABLE CHALLENGES TO THE DESIGNERS OF PLATFORM CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR SLEWING AND VIBRATIONSUPPRESSION. IT IS CLEAR THAT CONVENTIONAL DESIGN PROCEDURES BASED ONFINITE DIMENSIONAL, LUMPED PARAMETER MODELS (FINITE ELEMENTS OR MODES)ARE INADEQUATE TO THE TASK. ADVANCED DESIGN METHODS ARE BEING DEVELOPED FOR MODELING AND CONTROL OF FLEXIBLE STRUCTURES. THESE METHODS HAVE THE ANALYTICAL SOPHISTICATION TO TREAT THE VIBRATION SUPPRESSION PROBLEM IN THE DETAIL NECESSARY TO CAPTURE ALL FACTORS RELEVANT TO ACCURATE POINTING REQUIREMENTS. DIRECTIONS EXPLORED IN PREVIOUS WORK ARE BEING DEVELOPED AND EXPANDED TO THE LEVEL THAT SIGNIFICANT ENGINEERING EVALUATION OF CONTROLLERS FOR REALISTIC SPACE STRUCTURE PROBLEMS CAN BE DESIGNED.