Closed-loop control of sloshing fuel in a spinning spacecraft

Umberto Zucchelli; Miguel Alfonso Mendez; Annafederica Urbano; Sebastien Vincent-Bonnieu; Piotr Wenderski; Francesco Sanfedino

arXiv · 2510.08121

Closed-loop control of sloshing fuel in a spinning spacecraft

Umberto Zucchelli·Miguel Alfonso Mendez·Annafederica Urbano·Sebastien Vincent-Bonnieu·Piotr Wenderski·Francesco Sanfedino

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Abstract

New-generation space missions require satellites to carry substantial amounts of liquid propellant, making it essential to analyse the coupled control-structure-propellant dynamics in detail. While Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) offers high-fidelity predictions, its computational cost limits its use in iterative design. Equivalent Mechanical Models (EMMs) provide a faster alternative, though their predictive performance, especially in closed-loop scenarios, remains largely unexplored. This work presents a comparative analysis of a spacecraft under feedback control, using both CFD and a reduced-order sloshing model. Results show good agreement, validating the simplified model for the manoeuvrer considered. This validation enables efficient sensitivity and stability studies, offering a practical tool for early-stage spacecraft design.

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Umberto Zucchelli, Miguel Alfonso Mendez, Annafederica Urbano, Sebastien Vincent-Bonnieu, Piotr Wenderski, Francesco Sanfedino. 2025-10-09. Closed-loop control of sloshing fuel in a spinning spacecraft. https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.08121

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