Selection of component modes for the simulation of flexible multibody spacecraft

This paper describes a procedure for the selection of component modes employed in discretization of component deformation in a flexible multibody spacecraft. The emphasis is placed on the selection of modes which adequately represent the interaction of the various on-board control systems with the vehicle structural flexibility. The method combines the component mode synthesis approaches of Craig-Bampton (1968), MacNeal (1971) and Rubin (1975), and Benfield-Hruda (1971) with the modal balancing method of Moore (1981) and Gregory (1984). The procedure, which is applicable to both articulating and nonarticulating systems, was used to develop a low-order model of the three-body articulating Galileo spacecraft.