ATTITUDE STABILITY OF A SPINNING SYMMETRIC SATELLITE IN A PLANAR PERIODIC ORBIT

This paper contains an analysis of the attitude stability of a spinning axisymmetric satellite whose mass center moves in any known planar periodic orbit of the restricted three-body problem while the spin axis remains normal to the orbit plane. A procedure based on Floquet theory is developed for constructing attitude instability charts, and examples of these are presented for two stable periodic orbits of the Earth-Moon system-one direct and one retrograde. The physical significance of these instability predictions is then explored by means of numerical integration of the full nonlinear equations of motion. Finally, an analysis based on averaging is performed, leading to approximate instability charts and indicating a possible connection between certain orbital-attitude resonance conditions and unstable attitude motions. © 1979 D. Reidel Publishing Co.