Reaction wheels: the state-of-the-art and prospectives

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Authors: Polyakov M. V., Dmitrienko A. S., Zavyalova O. Yu., Lyanzburg V. P., Gladyshev G. N., Balkovoy N. N.

Annotation: The paper presents the state-of-the-art and the prospective lines of development of reaction wheels used in the attitude and orbit control system of spacecraft. Authors give a detailed description of scientific and engineering problems, arising from adoption of dynamic torque control, weight and disturbances reduction. The peculiarities, coupled with application of reaction wheel in small and heavy satellites, are noted. The advantages of smart reaction wheels are described.

Keywords: reaction wheel, spacecraft, state-of-the-art, pro- spective