Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics
Attitude dynamics is the study of the rotational motion of an object given the torques applied to it and the initial angular position and velocity conditions. Attitude dynamics equations are examined in this post and an example of their integration is explored. Introduction Attitude dynamics studies how a body in rotational motion accelerates in time […]
Spacecraft Attitude Kinematics
Attitude kinematics is the study of the rotational motion of an object without taking into consideration the forces or torques that started it. Attitude kinematics equations allow to predict and propagate the rotational motion of an object in time and are thus a very powerful tool. In this post they are examined and an example […]
Quaternions and attitude representation
Complex numbers are very convenient for describing planar rotations. For example, any complex number multiplied by is rotated by degrees counterclockwise as: A 2d rotation only needs one degree of freedom, the rotation angle, and a constraint that ensures that the rotation does not change space in length but only rotates it, which is obtained […]
What is a rotation matrix?
Rotation matrices are embedded in everyday life, even if we hardly notice their presence. How does our phone know what is “up” or “down”? How does a car understand if it is going uphill or downhill? How does a spacecraft know where to point its antennas to transfer its precious data? Rotation matrices are an […]