Analysis of stability and Hopf bifurcation of delayed feedback spin stabilization of a rigid spacecraft

The stability and bifurcation of delayed feedback spin stabilization of a rigid spacecraft is investigated in this paper. The spin is stabilized about the principal axis of the intermediate moment of inertia using a simple delayed feedback control law. In particular, linear stability is analyzed via the exponential-polynomial characteristic equations and then the method of multiple scales is used to obtain the normal form of the Hopf bifurcation. Bifurcation diagrams and the dynamics of the delayed closed-loop system are verified using continuation software and with numerical simulations.