Rotation vector and directional cosine matrix in problems of satellite attitude control

Abstract

For many years, three rotation angles of moving vehicles: Roll, Pitch, and Yaw have been used for attitude determination and control. However, in the last years due to new airspace applications, such as strapdown Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) and spacecrafts, new quaternion (Q) based methods of classic mechanics appeared in aerospace systems engineering practice. Conventional and new modern methods have some features that can attract or repel developers. Nevertheless, some new techniques of classical mechanics can be tried to use them for vehicle attitude determination and control purposes with the expectation to get more effective results. The article presents a Rotation Vector (RV) and proposes a way of using it for satellite attitude control. This method is compared with conventional method of attitude control using three Rotation Angles. The ratio is shown between RV control and modern method of satellite attitude control using quaternion. Analytical and simulation results are presented.