Experimental and Numerical Investigation on Attitude Adjustment Characteristics of Spacecraft with Impulse Thruster

Abstract The spacecraft serves as an effective tool for the space exploration. The present study is devoted to investigate the yaw attitude adjustment motion of the spacecraft influenced by the reaction-jet control system. A novel spacecraft device with impulse thrusters is designed for the vacuum test. And a synchronous test system, equipped with high-speed cameras, is established to record the motion process of the spacecraft under the various initial setting conditions. Subsequently, a six degrees of the freedom exterior ballistic model is calculated considering the interior ballistic process in the impulse thruster. The experimental results confirm that the position change of the designed device’s center of mass aligns with expectation, and the prediction error of final attitude angle remains below 2%. Based on this foundation, the change rule of the impulse thrust under different main charge loads is explored. The non-linear impulse thrust needs to be coupled with the rotation motion to enhance calculation accuracy. And the position of the center of mass is investigated to illustrate the advantage of the designed spacecraft structure. Finally, the calculation of the ignition interval time required for each target attitude angle is conducted, providing the essential data for further optimization design research. The outcomes from this paper can offer valuable technical means for advancing studies on the spacecraft attitude control.