Attitude stabilization of averaging magnetic torque

The stability problems of two magnetic control systems are discussed. One uses a three-axis magnetic actuator only; the other includes an additional momentum-biased wheel. The so-called orbit-averaged magnetic controllers, derived from the orbit-averaged magnetic field, show an ability to ensure the global attitude stabilization. This is supported theoretically by the averaging method and Lyapunov theories, and also illustrated by the simulations executed for orbits of different inclinations. The results show that the second system can achieve considerably high steady-state control accuracy in all cases