Attitude control of Low Earth Orbit satellites by reaction wheels and magnetic torquers

The purpose of this paper is the design and the performance analysis of a control technique that allows simultaneous attitude control and angular momentum management for a Low Earth Orbit satellite equipped with a set of three magnetic actuators and three reaction wheels. A Proof of global asymptotic stability is derived for a control law driving a rigid spacecraft towards a prescribed, yet generic attitude fixed in the orbit frame. An analytical technique allowing for control gain selection is also proposed, which provides optimal convergence performance for the proposed controller, as demonstrated by means of Monte Carlo simulations. Robustness to external disturbances is finally evaluated within a realistic implementation scenario.