Attitude stability and performance of a dual-spin satellite with nutation damping.

Previous work of Anand and al. (1969) on the effect of aerodynamic torques on the steady-state behavior of a slowly spinning satellite without damping is extended to consideration of the effects of external torques and of a nutational damper on the transient and state motions of a satellite. Both the transient and steady-state behaviors are analyzed, and the attitude errors relative to a fixed star are established. The results indicate that, in the case of a particular satellite to be used for charting X-ray emitting sources in the celestial sphere, the effect of a nutational damper on the accuracy of the charting computations is significant.