More than a Manipulator: Planning Propellant-Free Attitude Maneuvers for Free-Floating Spacecraft
This work investigates using robotic manipulator motions for propellant-free spacecraft attitude control. By formulating a trajectory optimization problem with joint and collision avoidance constraints, complex maneuvers are demonstrated, showing manipulators can serve as redundant or primary attitude control systems, especially for in-space assembly.
-->
[Submitted on 13 Jul 2026]
Title:More than a Manipulator: Planning Propellant-Free Attitude Maneuvers for Free-Floating Spacecraft
View a PDF of the paper titled More than a Manipulator: Planning Propellant-Free Attitude Maneuvers for Free-Floating Spacecraft, by Harsh G. Bhundiya and 2 other authors
View PDF HTML (experimental)
Abstract:Spacecraft attitude control is traditionally achieved using momentum exchange devices or propellant-consuming thrusters. Meanwhile, a growing number of missions require robotic manipulators, which are typically treated as disturbance sources to be rejected rather than as actuators for spacecraft reorientation. This work investigates the use of manipulator motions for propellant-free attitude control by formulating a trajectory optimization problem with critical joint and collision avoidance constraints. Using an interior point solver for the resulting nonlinear program, complex slew and detumble trajectories are demonstrated for a range of spacecraft-manipulator systems with varying kinematic complexity and mass properties. The achievable control authority is compared directly with that of reaction wheel arrays via momentum and torque envelopes, demonstrating the potential for manipulators to serve as redundant or even primary attitude control systems. This work provides a framework for using manipulators as multipurpose attitude control actuators, with particularly promising applications in in-space assembly and manufacturing when grasping payloads with high relative mass fractions.
Subjects:
Robotics (cs.RO)
Cite as: arXiv:2607.12130 [cs.RO]
(or arXiv:2607.12130v1 [cs.RO] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2607.12130
arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)
Submission history
From: Harsh Bhundiya [view email] [v1] Mon, 13 Jul 2026 20:27:09 UTC (4,610 KB)
Full-text links:
Access Paper:
View a PDF of the paper titled More than a Manipulator: Planning Propellant-Free Attitude Maneuvers for Free-Floating Spacecraft, by Harsh G. Bhundiya and 2 other authors
View PDF
HTML (experimental)
TeX Source
view license
Current browse context:
cs.RO
new | recent | 2026-07
Change to browse by:
cs
References & Citations
NASA ADS
Google Scholar
Semantic Scholar
Loading...
Data provided by:
Bibliographic Tools
Bibliographic and Citation Tools
Bibliographic Explorer Toggle
Bibliographic Explorer (What is the Explorer?)
Connected Papers Toggle
Connected Papers (What is Connected Papers?)
Litmaps Toggle
Litmaps (What is Litmaps?)
scite.ai Toggle
scite Smart Citations (What are Smart Citations?)
Code, Data, Media
Code, Data and Media Associated with this Article
alphaXiv Toggle
alphaXiv (What is alphaXiv?)
Links to Code Toggle
CatalyzeX Code Finder for Papers (What is CatalyzeX?)
DagsHub Toggle
DagsHub (What is DagsHub?)
GotitPub Toggle
Gotit.pub (What is GotitPub?)
Huggingface Toggle
Hugging Face (What is Huggingface?)
ScienceCast Toggle
ScienceCast (What is ScienceCast?)
Demos
Demos
Replicate Toggle
Replicate (What is Replicate?)
Spaces Toggle
Hugging Face Spaces (What is Spaces?)
Spaces Toggle
TXYZ.AI (What is TXYZ.AI?)
Related Papers
Recommenders and Search Tools
Link to Influence Flower
Influence Flower (What are Influence Flowers?)
Core recommender toggle
CORE Recommender (What is CORE?)
Author
Venue
Institution
Topic
About arXivLabs
arXivLabs: experimental projects with community collaborators
arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website.
Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.
Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs.
Which authors of this paper are endorsers? | Disable MathJax (What is MathJax?)