Orientation and control of a flexible spacecraft: planar motion

A flexible spacecraft modeled as a rigid body which rotates in an inertial frame is considered; a light flexible beam is clamped to the rigid body at one end and free at the other end. It is assumed that the flexible spacecraft performs only planar motions. Two control problems are posed, namely, the orientation and the stabilization of the system. It is shown that suitable boundary controls applied to the free end of the beam and suitable control torques applied to the rigid body solve the problems