Attitude Control Systems for Nanosatellites: A Systematic Review

Abstract

As technology advances, electronic components and devices get miniaturized, nanosatellites can hold denser payloads with more sensors, requiring attitude control to point precisely both sensors and antenna to send back to ground stations on Earth the acquired data. Such important techniques have been researched since the 90’s to develop efficient technology due to lack of space, available energy to the tasks and their criticality, many techniques and designs have been developed and tested since then. In this review, using PRISMA methodology, some of this research will be presented focusing on the actual more used ones, like reaction wheels, magnetorquers and other perspectives as attitude control by shifting masses. A summary of findings was constructed to highlight these review points, and a discussion was made right after about the possible gaps. The presented techniques show some flaws when used as the only control device separately but have the tendency to minimize it when combined. However, using both methods requires more battery usage, processing and raises the nanosatellite’s costs, since these dedicated actuators are highly expensive. In the other hand, experimental techniques, based in moving mass actuators presented promising results in terms of energy saving, precision, time to convergence, but requires more intricate calculations and a refined control due its non-linearities intrinsic to the systems construction and a single physical prototype have been displayed until the writing of this review. In conclusion, there’s a clear preference for applying reaction wheels and magnetorquers together to Attitude Determination and Control Systems (ADCS), but its common problems could be solved by using another technique such as moving mass control, a field where still have great opportunities to innovative, equally efficient techniques and the possibility of pioneering the construction of a physical functional prototype, even with its own peculiarities.