Improved Reliability Analysis of Satellite Attitude Control Subsystem Using Actuator Failure Logic
Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1
uneversity of Tehran
2
University of Tehran
3
Iranian Space Research Centre
Abstract
In this study, the satellite attitude control subsystem is designed with reliability considerations in the presence of actuator failures and lose efficiency, with the aim of determining the optimal placement for actuator without space heritage. To this end, a suitable dynamic model for a flexible satellite, including environmental disturbances, is presented. Uncertainties and disturbances are incorporated as random data affecting actuator performance. Using a sliding mode controller, the satellite actuators are selected as pyramidal reaction wheels and three thrusters as redundant actuators. Considering four reaction wheels and three thrusters, there are 128 possible failure combinations based on the principles of probability. To enhance the reliability of the results given the impact of uncertainties, each failure scenario was repeated 100 times using Monte Carlo simulations. The large volume of generated data led to the development of a novel algorithm capable of predicting the probability of success or failure of the attitude control subsystem based on the number of randomly occurring actuator failures. Finally, to calculate the subsystem reliability, a novel method for modeling complex systems was employed. Ultimately, the reliability was determined, and the optimal placement for components without prior space experience was identified by comparing the simulation results.
Keywords
Subjects
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Volume 6, Issue 1
September 2026Pages 150-160
- Receive Date 29 September 2025
- Revise Date 29 December 2025
- Accept Date 17 February 2026