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Notation Guide Spacecraft Dynamics

This document discusses kinematic notations used to describe the orientation and motion of rigid bodies. Vectors and frames of reference are defined using unit direction vectors. The orientation of a body frame is described relative to an inertial reference frame. Angular velocity vectors represent the rotation of one frame with respect to another. Vector differentiation rules are provided, including the transport theorem to relate derivatives in different frames of reference.

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186 views2 pages

Notation Guide Spacecraft Dynamics

This document discusses kinematic notations used to describe the orientation and motion of rigid bodies. Vectors and frames of reference are defined using unit direction vectors. The orientation of a body frame is described relative to an inertial reference frame. Angular velocity vectors represent the rotation of one frame with respect to another. Vector differentiation rules are provided, including the transport theorem to relate derivatives in different frames of reference.

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Aland Bravo
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Kinematic Notations

Hanspeter Schaub∗

May 31, 2017

b̂2 Each vector is a magnitude times a direct vector. Note


b̂3 that the vector components are taken here with re-
ω2
spect to the frame N . To represent the vector in a
n̂3 ω3 B matrix form the following left-superscript notation is
N used:
b̂1 N 
n̂2 OB x
ON ω1 N
n̂1 r=  y (2)
z
The left superscript N denotes that the (x, y, z) vec-
Figure 1: Coordinate Frame Illustration
tor components are taken with respect to the N frame.
As with positions, orientations can only be de-
scribed relative to a reference orientation. Let N be
1 Vectors and Matrices an inertial (non-accelerating) coordinate frame. By
defining the b̂i direction vectors with respect to N ,
The coordinate frame we are able to describe the orientation of the body B
with respect to N .
B : {O, b̂1 , b̂2 , b̂3 }
The angular motion of B relative to N is de-
illustrated in Figure 1 is defined through its origin scribed through the angular velocity vector ωB/N
O and the three mutually orthogonal unit direction
vectors ωB/N = ω1 b̂1 + ω2 b̂2 + ω3 b̂3 (3)
{b̂1 , b̂2 , b̂3 }
This vector is the instantaneous angular rotation vec-
A vector with a ˆ symbol denotes a unit length di- tor of body B relative to N , and is typically expressed
rection vector. A right-handed coordinate frame sat- in body frame vector components. If only the B and
isfies b̂1 × b2 = b̂3 . If this coordinate frame B is N frames are considered, the ωB/N vector is often
attached to a rigid body, then describing the orien- written simply as ω.
tation of the rigid body is equivalent to studying the While we will see that attitude coordinates sets
orientation of B. For the study of attitude dynam- are not vectors, and do not abide by vector addition
ics, the translation of the rigid body is not of interest. laws, amazingly the angular velocity vector is truly a
As a result coordinate frames are thus often defined vector. Thus, if three frames A, B and N are present,
through their unit direction vectors only. their angular velocities relate through
A position vector r can be written in vector form
for example as ωA/N = ωA/B + ωB/N (4)

r = xn̂1 + y n̂2 + z n̂3 (1) If we wish to express a vector ω as a 3×1 matrix, we


∗
Alfred T. and Betty E. Look Professor of Engineering, De- must specify with respect to which frame the vector
partment of Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Col- components have been taken. If B frame components
orado, 431 UCB, Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research,
Boulder, CO 80309-0431. AAS Fellow.

1
are used as in Eq. (3), then the left super-script nota- derivatives to be taken. Further, let x be expressed in
tion is used again. B frame components as B x = (x1 , x2 , x3 )T Notice
that
B
  B 
ω1 ẋ1 Bd
B
ω = ω2   (5)  ẋ2  ⇒ (x) 6⇒ ẋ (9)
dt
ω3 ẋ3

These frame declarations can become cumbersome The time derivative of the angular velocity vector
after a while if only 2 frames are present. If no label ωB/N has a special property worth noting:
is made on a matrix representation of a vector, then Bd Bd
 
body frame components are implied. ω̇B/N = ωB/N + ωB/N ×ωB/N = ωB/N
The tilde matrix notation is dt dt
(10)

0 −ω3 ω2
 In other words, if ω is the angular velocity vector be-
[ω̃] =  ω3 0 −ω1  (6) tween two particular frames, then the time derivative
−ω2 ω1 0 of ω as seen by either of these frames is the same.

is a matrix representation of the vector cross product


through [ω̃]a ≡ ω × a.
References
[1] P. W. Likins. Elements of Engineering Mechan-
2 Vector Differentation ics. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1973.

Having defined a rotating frame B, let us briefly dis- [2] Hanspeter Schaub and John L. Junkins. Analyti-
cuss how to differentiate a vector r expressed in B cal Mechanics of Space Systems. AIAA Educa-
vector components. To discuss the time evolution of tion Series, Reston, VA, 3rd edition, 2014.
r, an observer frame must be specified. For exam-
ple, if r points from the Space Shuttle cockpit to tail,
then this vector appears stationary as seen by a Shut-
tle fixed observer. However, this same r is rotating
as seen by an earth-fixed observer. A left super-script
label is used on the time differential operator to de-
note the observer frame. The transport theorem is
used to map a time derivative seen by a frame B into
the equivalent derivative seen by another frame N :1, 2
Nd Bd
(r) = (r) + ωB/N × r (7)
dt dt
The vector r and frames B and N are only placehold-
ers in Eq. (7). The transport theorem applies equally
if any other vector or frames are substituted into this
expression.
If no frame label is provided, then the time deriva-
tive is assumed to be taken with respect to an inertial
frame.
Nd
ẋ ≡ (x) (8)
dt
This is by far the most common time derivative of a
vector as Newton’s and Euler’s laws require inertial

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