Determination and control of the satellites' attitude by using a pyramidal configuration of four control moment gyros

The paper presents a new architecture for mini-satellites' attitude control using a cluster consisting of four control moment gyros, in pyramidal configuration, and feedback from the quaternion and angular velocity vectors. The designed control law modifies the cluster's equivalent gyroscopic moment, the equivalent kinetic moment and the angular velocities' vector, this leading to the modification of the quaternion vector and to the change of the satellite's attitude. Matlab environment is used for the architecture's software implementation and validation, this being achieved for a mini-satellite involved in a typical motion around its own axis.