Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/3111
Date of Award
6-2025
Degree Name
MS in Aerospace Engineering
Department/Program
Aerospace Engineering
College
College of Engineering
Advisor
Eric Mehiel
Advisor Department
Aerospace Engineering
Advisor College
College of Engineering
Abstract
The Cal Poly Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics Simulator (SADS) is an ongoing project to develop a system capable of simulating the attitude dynamics and kinematics of a rigid body in space. Actuations on the SADS are performed by reaction wheels, however the current reaction wheels have various issues that decrease system performance and are not independent of the SADS. The reaction wheel developed as part of this thesis will be designed to improve performance and set out design specifications tailored to the SADS, serve as an independent assembly that can be transferred to other systems, and provide a general outline for reaction wheel development for any system. The reaction wheel system developed as part of this thesis is not meant to be a state-of-the-art reaction wheel or implement new technologies, rather develop a reaction wheel system in a low-cost educational environment.
The reaction wheel was designed to provide a momentum capacity of 0.500 N m s, a wheel inertia of 1.698 × 10−3 kg m^2, a maximum spin rate of 2760 rpm, and an SADS angular acceleration of 7.23 × 10−5 rad/s^2. In testing, the measured values resulted in a momentum capacity of 0.463 N m s (7.36% below the design value), a wheel inertia of 1.716 × 10−3 kg m^2 (1.08% above the design value), and a top speed of 2577 rpm (6.63% under the target). The SADS angular acceleration was 9.04 × 10−3 rad/s^2, exceeding the angular acceleration requirements.