Equilibria of a satellite-asymmetric pendulum system in a circular orbit

The attitude motion of a satellite asymmetric pendulum system subjected to gravitational torques in a circular orbit is studied. The satellite's principal axes of inertia are assumed to be parallel to the axes of the orbital reference frame. All three principal central moments of inertia of the pendulum are different. In the two most interesting special cases, all equilibria of the pendulum in the orbital reference frame are obtained and their stability is examined. It is noted that the problem considered is analogous to the problems of determining equilibria of a gyrostat satellite or of a satellite subjected to gravitational and aerodynamic torques.