Point it where you want it.
Telling a spacecraft where to point is easy. Getting it there is the hard part, and it is the controller that does the work. Your team will run the same manoeuvre with two different controllers and find out what a more accurate one actually costs.
A stronger controller points more accurately. What does that cost the spacecraft?
Learning outcomes · Grade 6
What you should be able to do, and the evidence that shows it.
- 01By the end of this mission, the learner will be able to describe what happens to how far off target the spacecraft is over the run, and demonstrate this by pointing to a named feature of the plotted evidence.
- 02By the end of this mission, the learner will be able to state that a spacecraft has to turn in order to point at something, and demonstrate this by recording that expectation before the run.
- 03By the end of this mission, the learner will be able to say that these results come from a model rather than from a real spacecraft, and demonstrate this by naming one thing the model does not cover.
Before we start
A quick check of what you already know. There is no score.
The idea behind the mission
Two runs, one difference: the controller. Same spacecraft, same starting position, same limit on how hard the wheels can push.
Accuracy is bought, not free
A controller that corrects harder gets closer to the target, but it has to turn the spacecraft faster and push the reaction wheels harder to do it. Wheels have limits. When one runs out of authority it cannot help any more, however much the controller asks.
Predict before you run
Before you run anything: which controller will finish closer to the target, and why?
Which controller will finish closer to the target, and why?
At least 20 characters — say what you expect and why.
Configure the mission
This is the set-up you will run. It is fixed on purpose, so everyone in the class is reading the same evidence.
Baseline case
Weak controller
- Write your prediction first.
- Change nothing except the controller.
- These results come from a model, not from a real spacecraft.
Units stay attached to every result: angles in degrees (°), time in seconds (s), power in watts (W), energy in watt-hours (Wh), battery state in percent (%), and elevation in degrees (°) where available.
Run the Digital Twin
Run the weak controller first, then the tuned one. Nothing else changes.
Baseline
Weak controller
Read the evidence
Read both charts. The first is the job being done; the second is what it cost.
Run the Twin to produce evidence.
Make the engineering decision
Which controller would you fly, and which number in your evidence decided it?
Which controller do you recommend, and what evidence supports it?
What this does not prove
What this mission shows
- My prediction
- The controller comparison for the two runs
- Where each number came from
- One thing this model does not cover
What it does not establish
- These results are produced by a model. Nothing here was measured on a real spacecraft.
- The disturbances and reference directions are controlled teaching values, not an orbit-derived environment.
- This lesson does not show that any controller is ready to fly.
Show what you understood
Formative feedback for you and your teacher. There is no official grade.
The stronger controller pointed far more accurately. What did that cost?
Which number tells you how well the controller did its job?
Which controller would you fly, and which number decided it?
Name one thing this model does not tell you about a real control system.
Revisit the mission evidence
Formative · not an official grade
No formative evidence has been recorded yet.
Next: Write your prediction, run both set-ups, then pick the evidence that supports your answer.
Formative guidance only. Official grade: none. A teacher still reviews your written reasoning.