Experiment and Analysis of Reaction Wheel Disturbance with Periodical Torque Applied

For the high accuracy attitude control of spacecraft, reaction wheels (RW), which are used as actuator, can be a major disturbance source. Therefore, it is important to comprehend the disturbance characteristics of RW. In this paper, the result of the following experiments and analysis are presented. Firstly we have developed the distrubance measuring system, which enables us to detect low-frequency disturbance in extremely low level of force. Next we have measured the disturbance with RW rotating at constant as well as time-varying velocity. Finally we have modeled the dynamic model of RW. Additionally we compare the simulation results with the experimental results, and it turns out that the simulation model has a high fidelity.