Development of a satellite flywheel family operating on one active axis magnetic bearings

Since the samarium-cobalt magnets were available at industrial level, new possibilities appeared in the area of magnetic bearings with the radial passive centering and axial control of the rotor position. Magnetic bearings of this type on which a wide effort was made towards the optimization for satellite flywheel applications are described. Also, the momentum and reaction wheels were considered. This work was extended to the kinetic storage of energy for satellites.