Resilient High Precision Spacecraft Pointing Using Novel Attitude Control

In today’s increasingly contested space regime, there is a critical defense need for technologies that advance the operational performance, resiliency, and affordability of future national security satellite constellations. Attitude control systems (ACSs) are an integral part of operating every spacecraft mission but are particularly significant for national security missions across Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), Communications, Position Navigation and Timing (PNT), Missile Warning & Tracking, Space Situational Awareness, and Electronic Warfare (EW) for ensuring the stability, agility, and precision of spacecraft orientation, which are critical for mission success. ACS are for warfighting operations to enable precise targeting, communication, and situational awareness which is essential for mission success in dynamic and contested environments. Advanced ACS technologies represent a fundamental capability to enable defense spacecraft to overcome environmental disturbances, perform precise maneuvers, and maintain optimal operational conditions to enhance the overall effectiveness and capabilities of DoD satellite systems. Samara’s Multifunctional Structures for Attitude Control (MSAC) represents an innovation in ACS that leverages deployable panels as multifunctional structures to serve as both the reaction mass for active jitter cancellation and large-angle slewing (attitude control). By integrating distributed strain actuators into these panels, MSAC achieves precise attitude control with enhanced agility and stability. This novel approach eliminates the need for conventional reaction wheels or control moment gyroscopes, reducing mass, volume, and complexity onboard spacecraft. MSAC's compliant mechanisms tailor vibration modes to maximize control authority, effectively minimizing jitter and vibrational noise. MSAC results in improved pointing accuracy and performance, crucial for missions requiring precise observations or communications. MSAC's simplified design streamlines system integration and testing processes, ultimately reducing mission costs and time-to-market. MSAC’s advancement is poised to benefit diverse and urgent national security space mission sets. During the proposed Phase II, Samara Aerospace will mature their MSAC technology through a Critical Design Review, validation testing, and delivery of flight hardware to their commercial satellite partner. This effort will validate hardware performance, document and analyze the comprehensive MSAC design, and deliver hardware for continued hardware maturation in a satellite flight testing program.