Stability of the conical precession of a synamically symmetric rigid body
Abstract
The stability of motion of a dynamically symmetric body in a circular orbit with respect to the mass center in a central Newtonian gravitational field is investigated. It is assumed that the ratio between the polar and equatorial moments of inertia is 4/3 and that the projection of the body's absolute angular velocity on its axis of symmetry is zero. It is proven that 'equilibrium configurations' of the body's axis of symmetry in the plane perpendicular to the velocity vector of its mass center are unstable.
- Publication:
-
Soviet Astronomy Letters
- Pub Date:
- August 1977
- Bibcode:
- 1977SvAL....3..178M
- Keywords:
-
- Attitude Stability;
- Circular Orbits;
- Precession;
- Spacecraft Stability;
- Angular Velocity;
- Hamiltonian Functions;
- Rotary Stability;
- Satellite Rotation;
- Astrodynamics