The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 10, 2016
Filed:
Apr. 04, 2014
Noa, Inc., Miami Beach, FL (US);
Igal Kronhaus, Miami Beach, FL (US);
Igal Kronhaus, Würzburg, DE;
NOA Inc., Miami Beach, FL (US);
Other;
Abstract
Systems and methods for orbit and attitude control of nanosatellites are provided. A spacecraft can be equipped with a plurality of pulsed ablative thrusters (PAT), mounted on at least one of the spacecraft body orientations. The PATs are integrated with the spacecraft structure. The actual spacecraft attitude is measured by a sensor and compared with the desired thrust direction. In order to reduce attitude errors, a control system is used to determine the firing sequence of thrusters. During maneuvering the thrusters are continuously being fired. To conserve energy a thrust switch control is utilized, selecting a single PAT to be fired each pulse. The result of this operation is that the attitude of the spacecraft is adjusted continuously. Therefore, thrust deviation from a selected path can be minimized during orbital maneuvering.