Investigating Optimum Procedures Needed to Maintain a Model Satellite’s CG Stable About Design Point, Under Subsystem Configuration Changes

During design, microsatellites are subject to different changes like the changes in weight, location and dimension of parts and elements of subsystems and the payload. These changes should be accumulated by the structure subsystem in a way that some key structural parameters like the center of gravity (CG) and inertia moments remain unchanged. This subject is also important regarding the design of a modular structure of a satellite. In the present study it is tried to accommodate any changes in weight and location of any part(s) and element(s) of a microsatellite by optimum (minimum) rearrangement of other parts on their plane of rest in order to keep the CG and inertia moments unchanged. This is performed by a special mathematics modeling considering the existing constraints. Of course, no addition or subtractions of weight from the remaining parts are assumed. Also, in order to keep the original structural design intact, no movement of the parts except in the close neighborhood of their original location is allowed. At the end, this study shows that it is possible to move other subsystems on some suitable paths as a result of changing one subsystem mass from −100% (omitting that element) to 100% (doubling the weight of that element) to maintain the overall CG position in its previous position.