Mitigation of wheel friction torque instabilities

Reduce / remove the impact of wheel friction torque instabilities on the spacecraft pointing and stabilityImproved wheel performance for demanding missions

Missions require more and more stringent stability performances, for which the performances of the reaction wheels become drivers.A recurrent issue is the wheel friction instability, resulting in fast variations of the wheel response, which adversely affects the pointing stability.This activity will:- examine the little understood effects of the lubrication system and environment on the stability and consistency of the delivered torque- characterise the impact of wheel instabilities on the pointing and stability- investigate solutions (at AOCS level, at wheel level, at system level, at HW or SW levels)- assess the system impact