Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics and Control

Kinematics

Prof. Luiz Carlos Gadelha

UFABC

Vector and Attitude Representations

Rotation or transformation matrix R
Parametrization of R by different ways:
Euler Angles,
Euler Theorem,
Axis-Angle (Euler Parameters),
Quaternions
 Kinematics - Definitions
The purpose of this chapter is to develop the kinematic equations of motion for a
rotating reference frame, as well as the conceptual tools for visualizing the
satellite motion.

The chapter begins with the development of attitude representations, including ,

reference frames, rotation matrices, and some of the variables that can be used
to describe attitude motion.

After that one develops the differential equations that describe attitude motion
for a given angular velocity of the satellite.

However, considering that the definitions of vector and its representation, force,
Newton's second law, linear and angular momentum have already been made
in the course of dynamics the first sections are left for the student to review.
 Vector and Attitude Representations
A reference frame or coordinate system, is generally taken to be a set of three
unit vectors that are mutually perpendicular, that is : reference frame is a
triad of orthonormal vectors.
• The examples are : Inertial frame 𝑖1 , 𝑖3 , 𝑖2 ; orbital frame
𝑜1 , 𝑜3 , 𝑜2 , body frame 𝑏1 , 𝑏3 , 𝑏2 (the spacecraft)
• Frame axes properties, the dot products satisfy

𝑖1 . 𝑖1 = 1 𝑖1 . 𝑖2 = 0 𝑖1 . 𝑖3 = 0
𝑖2 . 𝑖1 = 0 𝑖2 . 𝑖2 = 1 𝑖2 . 𝑖3 = 0
𝑖3 . 𝑖1 = 0 𝑖3 . 𝑖2 = 0 𝑖3 . 𝑖3 = 1

1 𝑖𝑓 𝑖 = 𝑗
𝑖𝑖 . 𝑖𝑗 =
0 𝑖𝑓 𝑖 ≠ 𝑗
 Vector and Attitude Representations

• Cross product satisfy

𝑢2 𝑣3 − 𝑢3 𝑣2
𝑢 × 𝑣 = 𝑢3 𝑣1 − 𝑢1 𝑣3
𝑢1 𝑣2 − 𝑢2 𝑣1

𝑎1 0 −𝑎3 𝑎2
𝑎 = 𝑎2 𝑎× = 𝑎3 0 −𝑎1 𝑎× 𝑇
= −𝑎×
𝑎3 −𝑎2 𝑎1 0

The X superscript is used to denote a skew-symmetric matrix

 Vector and Attitude Representations

• Cross product satisfy

0 −𝑣3 𝑣2 𝑢2 𝑣3 − 𝑢3 𝑣2
𝑢1 𝑢2 𝑢3 𝑣3 0 −𝑣1 = 𝑢3 𝑣1 − 𝑢1 𝑣3
−𝑣2 𝑣1 0 𝑢1 𝑣2 − 𝑢2 𝑣1
= 𝑢 × 𝑣 = 𝑢𝑇 𝑣 ×

0 𝑢3 −𝑢2 𝑣1 𝑢2 𝑣3 − 𝑢3 𝑣2
−𝑢3 0 𝑢1 𝑣2 = 𝑢3 𝑣1 − 𝑢1 𝑣3
𝑢2 −𝑢1 0 𝑣3 𝑢1 𝑣2 − 𝑢2 𝑣1
=𝑢×𝑣 = 𝑣× 𝑇𝑢
 Vector and Attitude Representations
𝑣1
Dot product
𝑢. 𝑣 = 𝑢𝑇 𝑣 = 𝑢1 𝑢2 𝑢3 𝑣2
𝑣3
= 𝑢1 𝑣1 + 𝑢2 𝑣2 + 𝑢3 𝑣3
Cross product 𝑖1 1 0 0
𝑖 = 𝑖2 𝑖. 𝑖𝑇= 0 1 0
𝑖3 0 0 1
= 𝟏3×3
𝑖1 × 𝑖1 = 0 𝑖1 × 𝑖2 = 𝑖3 𝑖1 × 𝑖3 = −𝑖2
𝑖2 × 𝑖1 = −𝑖3 𝑖2 × 𝑖2 = 0 𝑖2 × 𝑖3 = 𝑖1
𝑖3 × 𝑖1 = 𝑖2 𝑖3 × 𝑖2 = −𝑖1 𝑖3 × 𝑖3 = 0
1 for 𝑖, 𝑗, 𝑘 an even permutation of 1,2,3
𝑖𝑖 × 𝑖𝑗 = 𝜀𝑖𝑗𝑘 𝑖𝑘 𝜀𝑖𝑗𝑘 = − 1 for 𝑖, 𝑗, 𝑘 an odd permutation of 1,2,3
0 otherwise
 Vector and Attitude Representations
The escalars 𝑣1 , 𝑣2 , 𝑣3 are the components of 𝑣 expressed in {𝑖}
𝑣 = 𝑣1 𝑖1 + 𝑣2 𝑖2 + 𝑣3 𝑖3
𝑣1 = 𝑣 . 𝑖1 , 𝑣2 = 𝑣 . 𝑖2 , 𝑣3 = 𝑣 . 𝑖3
𝑣1 = 𝑣 cos 𝛼1 , 𝑣2 = 𝑣 cos 𝛼2 , 𝑣3 = 𝑣 cos 𝛼3
𝑣= 𝑣

𝛼𝑗 are called direction cosines

The components of a vector 𝑣 , in a given frame, can be
expressed by
𝑣1 𝑖1
𝑣 = 𝑣2 → 𝑣 = 𝑣1 𝑣2 𝑣3 𝑖2 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑇 {𝑖}
𝑣3 𝑖3
𝑣 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑇 𝑖 = 𝑣𝑜 𝑇 𝑜 = 𝑣𝑏 𝑇 𝑏
 Rotation Matriz
Suppose one has 𝑣, known in frame {𝑏}, denoted by 𝑣𝑏 , and one
wants to express it in frame {𝑖}, i.e. 𝑣𝑖
𝑣 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑇 𝑖 = 𝑣𝑏 𝑇 𝑏

We are looking for a way to represent 𝑖 in terms of 𝑏

where R is a transformation matrix 𝑖 =𝑅 𝑏

𝑣 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑇 𝑖 = 𝑣𝑖 𝑇 𝑅 𝑏 = 𝑣𝑏 𝑇 𝑏

𝑣𝑖 𝑇 𝑅 = 𝑣𝑏 𝑇 or 𝑅𝑇 𝑣𝑖 = 𝑣𝑏 or 𝑣𝑖 = 𝑅𝑣𝑏
𝑖1 = 𝑅11 𝑏1 +𝑅12 𝑏2 + 𝑅13 𝑏3
𝑖2 = 𝑅21 𝑏1 +𝑅22 𝑏2 + 𝑅23 𝑏3
𝑖3 = 𝑅31 𝑏1 +𝑅32 𝑏2 + 𝑅33 𝑏3
𝑅11 = 𝑖1 . 𝑏1 , 𝑅12 = 𝑖1 . 𝑏2 , 𝑅13 = 𝑖1 . 𝑏3
𝑅𝑖𝑗 = 𝑖𝑖 . 𝑏𝑗 = 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛼𝑖𝑗
 Properties of the Rotation Matriz
Main properties of R

𝑅𝑇 = 𝑅−1 , det 𝑅 = ±1
𝑣𝑖 = 𝑅𝑏𝑖 𝑣𝑏 , 𝑣𝑏 = 𝑅𝑖𝑏 𝑣𝑏𝑖 , 𝑣𝑖 = 𝑅𝑏𝑖 𝑣𝑏 , 𝑅𝑏𝑖 = 𝑏 . {𝑖}𝑇

• Parametrization of R can done in different ways:

• Euler Angles,
• Axis-Angle (Euler Parameters),
• Quaternions

Computing the nine direction cosines matrix (DCM) is one way to

construct a rotation matrix R, but there are many others. One of the
easiest to visualize is the Euler angle approach. This approach t permit
a rotation from one frame to another by a visualized sequence of three
simple rotations about base vectors.
 Parametrization of R by Euler angles
Rotation around one axis 𝑒1 ′ = cos 𝜃 𝑒1 + sin 𝜃 𝑒2
𝑒2 ′ = −sin 𝜃 𝑒1 + cos 𝜃 𝑒2
𝑒3 ′ = 0
𝑒 ′ = 𝑅(𝑧, 𝜃)𝑒
cos 𝜃 sin 𝜃 0
𝑅 𝑧, 𝜃 = − sin 𝜃 cos 𝜃 0
0 0 1
1 0 0
𝑅 𝑥, 𝜃 = 0 cos 𝜃 sin 𝜃
0 − sin 𝜃 cos 𝜃
cos 𝜃 0 − sin 𝜃
𝑅 𝑦, 𝜃 = 0 1 0
sin 𝜃 0 cos 𝜃
Other notations 𝑅 𝑧, 𝜃 → 𝑅𝑧 𝜃 → 𝑅3 𝜃 → 𝑅𝑒′𝑒
 Parametrization of R by Euler angles
• Sequences of rotations (3,1,2)
𝑒 ′ = 𝑅𝑧 (𝜃1 )𝑒
𝑒 ′′ = 𝑅𝑧 𝜃2 𝑒 ′ = 𝑅𝑧 𝜃2 𝑅𝑧 𝜃1 𝑒 = 𝑅𝑧 𝜃1 + 𝜃2 𝑒

𝑒 ′ = 𝑅𝑧 (𝜃1 )𝑒
𝑒 ′′ = 𝑅𝑦 𝜃2 𝑒 ′ = 𝑅𝑦 𝜃2 𝑅𝑧 𝜃1 𝑒
𝑒 ′′′ = 𝑅𝑧 𝜃3 𝑒 ′′ = 𝑅𝑧 𝜃3 𝑅𝑦 𝜃2 𝑅𝑧 𝜃1 𝑒

• 1st rotation: 𝑅𝑧 𝜃1 or 𝑅3 𝜃1
• 2nd rotation: 𝑅𝑦 𝜃2 or 𝑅2 𝜃2
• 3rd rotation: 𝑅𝑧 𝜃3 or 𝑅3 𝜃3
• → Sequence 3-2-3
• Other sequences 1-2-1, 1-3-1, 2-3-2, 2-1-2, 3-1-3, 3-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-3-
2, 2-3-1, 2-1-3, 3-2-1, 3-1-2
 Parametrization of R by Euler angles

Example: sequence 3-1-2

𝑅312 𝜙, 𝜃, 𝜓 = 𝑅2 𝜓 𝑅1 𝜃 𝑅3 𝜙

𝑐𝜓𝑐𝜙 − 𝑠𝜓𝑠𝜃𝑠𝜙 𝑐𝜓𝑠𝜙 + 𝑠𝜓𝑠𝜃𝑐𝜙 −𝑠𝜓𝑐𝜃

= −𝑐𝜃𝑠𝜙 𝑐𝜃𝑐𝜙 𝑠𝜃
𝑠𝜓𝑐𝜙 − 𝑐𝜓𝑠𝜃𝑠𝜙 𝑠𝜓𝑠𝜙 − 𝑐𝜓𝑠𝜃𝑐𝜙 𝑐𝜓𝑐𝜃

From 𝑅 𝜙, 𝜃, 𝜓 , it’s possible to extract the angles (using

specific algorithms).
 Parametrization of R by Euler angles
The parametrization through the Euler angles (3 rotations of
angles 𝜃1 ,𝜃2 , 𝜃3 has the advantage of visualization, but has the
disadvantage of appearing trigonometric functions in which
singularities can occur. There are different definitions in different
applications in space one call (Roll, Picth, Yaw) in aeronautics,
robotics, nautical can has others names.
Another of Euler's contributions is the theorem
that tells us that only one rotation is necessary
to reorient one frame to another.

This theorem is known as Euler's Theorem and

is formally stated as:

The most general motion of a rigid body with a

fixed point is a rotation about a fixed axis.
 Euler's theorem
• It is possible to obtain a single rotation and find the Eule axis
and the Euler angle (𝑛, 𝜃) by the expressions

𝑅 𝑛, 𝜃 = 𝐼3×3 − sin 𝜃 𝑛× + (1 − cos 𝜃) [𝑛× ]2

cos 𝜃 = 1 2 (𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑅 − 1)

𝑅23 − 𝑅32
𝑛 = (1 2 sin 𝜃 ) 𝑅32 − 𝑅23
𝑅12 − 𝑅21

(𝑛, 𝜃) are called Axis/Angle – Euler Parameters, is another

parameters set for the rotation and can represent the attitude.
However, it is a theoretical result, not being common its
implementation by means of an algorithm
 Euler's theorem:
In other words : In three-dimensional space, any displacement of
a rigid body such that a point on the rigid body remains fixed, is
equivalent to a single rotation (φ) about some axis (e) that runs
through the fixed point.

Thus, instead of using three simple

rotations (three angles) to keep track of
rotational motion, one only needs to use a
single rotation (angle φ) about the fixed
axis ( e ) called Euler principal angles and
Euler axis.
 Euler's theorem
• Therefore, it is possible to obtain a single rotation and find the
Eule axis and the Euler angle (𝑛, 𝜃) by the expressions

𝑅 𝑛, 𝜃 = 𝐼3×3 − sin 𝜃 𝑛× + (1 − cos 𝜃) [𝑛× ]2

cos 𝜃 = 1 2 (𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑅 − 1)

𝑅23 − 𝑅32
𝑛 = (1 2 sin 𝜃 ) 𝑅32 − 𝑅23
𝑅12 − 𝑅21

(𝑛, 𝜃) are called Axis/Angle – Euler Parameters, is another

parameters set for the rotation and can represent the attitude.
However, it is a theoretical result, not being common its
implementation by means of an algorithm
 Parametrization of R by Quaternions
Another important approaches for parameterizations of R is the
quaternions which is represented by 3 vector (q1,2,3 ) and one
escalar (q4 )
𝑞 = [𝑞1 𝑞2 𝑞3 𝑞4 ]𝑇
𝑞1
𝑞
𝑞= , 𝑞 = 𝑞2
𝑞4 𝑞3

Quaternion is a unitary vector

𝑞 = 𝑞1 2 + 𝑞2 2 + 𝑞3 2 + 𝑞4 2 =1

Relation between Quaternion and Euler Axis/Angle

𝜃 𝜃
𝑞 = 𝑛 sin , 𝑞4 = cos
2 2
 Parametrization of R by Quaternions

R can be expressed in terms of quaternion

𝑅 = (𝑞4 2 − 𝑞 𝑇 𝑞 )𝐼 + 2𝑞 𝑞𝑇 − 2𝑞4 [𝑞 × ]

And vice-versa

1
𝑞4 = ± 1 + 𝑡𝑟(𝑅)
2
1 𝑅23 − 𝑅32
𝑞= 𝑅31 − 𝑅13
4𝑞4 𝑅12 − 𝑅21
 Parametrization of R by Quaternions
One defines four new variables in terms of a and φ .
• q = a sinφ/2 (vector 1,2,3) and q4 = cosφ/2

𝑞1 2 − 𝑞2 2 − 𝑞3 2 + 𝑞4 2 2(𝑞1 𝑞2 + 𝑞3 𝑞4 ) 2(𝑞1 𝑞3 − 𝑞2 𝑞4 )
• 2
𝑅= 2(𝑞1 𝑞2 − 𝑞3 𝑞4 ) −𝑞1 2 + 𝑞2 2 − 𝑞3 2 + 𝑞4 2 2(𝑞3 𝑞2 + 𝑞1 𝑞4 )
2(𝑞1 𝑞3 + 𝑞2 𝑞4 ) 2(𝑞3 𝑞2 − 𝑞1 𝑞4 ) −𝑞1 2 − 𝑞2 2 + 𝑞3 2 + 𝑞4 2

where

𝑞1 = ± 1 2 1 + 𝑅11 − 𝑅22 − 𝑅33

𝑞2 = 1 4𝑞 (𝑅12 + 𝑅21 )
1
𝑞3 = 1 4𝑞 (𝑅13 + 𝑅31 )
1
𝑞4 = 1 4𝑞 (𝑅23 − 𝑅32 )
1
 Some references
• James R. Wertz (Editor), "Spacecraft Attitude Determination
and Control", Springer, 1978.
• Vincent L. Pisacane (Editor), "Fundamentals of Space
Systems", Oxford Univ Press, 2005.
• Marcel J. Sidi. “Spacecraft Dynamics and Control: A Practical
Engineering Approach”. Cambridge University Press, 1997.
• V. A. Chobotov. “Spacecraft Attitude Dynamics and Control”.
Krieger Publishing Co., 1991.
• Bong Wie. “Space Vehicle Dynamics and Control”. AIAA, 1998.
• M. D. Shuster, “A Survey of Attitude Representations,” The
Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, Vol. 41, No. 4, October–
December 1993, pp. 439–517.