Fully Magnetic Devices-Based Control for Gyroless Target Pointing of a Spinning Spacecraft

The use of magnetic devices is an attractive solution in the spacecraft design because of its simplicity, low cost, power efficiency, and reliability. A new method of pointing a spacecraft towards the target in the inertial reference frame using only magnetic devices is proposed—more specifically, utilizing only magnetometers and magnetic torquers (MTQs) to perform the functions of attitude sensors and actuators, respectively. Simulation was performed and results are presented illustrating the performance of the proposed algorithm under the conditions of measurement uncertainties and environmental disturbances.