Planar reorientation maneuvers of space multibody systems using internal controls

In this paper a reorientation maneuvering strategy for an interconnection of planar rigid bodies in space is developed. It is assumed that there are no exogeneous torques, and torques generated by joint motors are used as means of control so that the total angular momentum of the multibody system is a constant, assumed to be zero in this paper. The maneuver strategy uses the nonintegrability of the expression for the angular momentum. We demonstrate that large-angle maneuvers can be designed to achieve an arbitrary reorientation of the multibody system with respect to an inertial frame. The theoretical background for carrying out the required maneuvers is briefly summarized. Specifications and computer simulations of a specific reorientation maneuver, and the corresponding control strategies, are described.