An effective approach to identify the mass properties of a satellite attitude dynamics simulator

A satellite attitude dynamics simulator (SADS) is a low-cost, ground-based equipment for laboratory simulation of the space environment as satellite weightless, sun and magnetic field simulation as well as implementation of diverse attitude determination and control algorithms. Precise estimation of mass properties plays a significant role in guidance and control algorithms application. The objective of this paper is mass properties identification includes moment of inertia tensor and centre of mass position of a three-degrees-of-freedom SADS at the Space Research Laboratory. This paper investigates the well-known methods to estimate mass properties, i.e. Batch Least Squares and Classical Kalman Filter and presents an innovative approach using the Classical Levenberg–Marquardt (CLM) to solve this major problem. In order to verify the proposed technique, a MATLAB® SIMULINK® model of the SADS is employed. The experimental results indicate that the parameter estimation process using CLM technique is more accurate and reliable than other methods.