Patents by Inventor H. Grant Wang

H. Grant Wang has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 8056863
    Abstract: A method of controlling attitude of a spacecraft during a transfer orbit operation is provided. The method includes providing a slow spin rate, determining the attitude of the spacecraft using a unified sensor set, and controlling the attitude of the spacecraft using a unified control law. The use of a unified set of sensors and a unified control law reduces spacecraft complexity, cost, and weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: H. Grant Wang, Rongsheng Li
  • Publication number: 20100059631
    Abstract: A method of controlling attitude of a spacecraft during a transfer orbit operation is provided. The method includes providing a slow spin rate, determining the attitude of the spacecraft using a unified sensor set, and controlling the attitude of the spacecraft using a unified control law. The use of a unified set of sensors and a unified control law reduces spacecraft complexity, cost, and weight.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 3, 2009
    Publication date: March 11, 2010
    Applicant: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: H. Grant Wang, Rongsheng Li
  • Patent number: 7665695
    Abstract: A method of controlling attitude of a spacecraft during a transfer orbit operation is provided. The method includes providing a slow spin rate, determining the attitude of the spacecraft using a unified sensor set, and controlling the attitude of the spacecraft using a unified control law. The use of a unified set of sensors and a unified control law reduces spacecraft complexity, cost, and weight.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: H. Grant Wang, Rongsheng Li
  • Patent number: 7546983
    Abstract: A system for, and method of recovering a solar-powered spacecraft from an anomaly that renders the attitude of the spacecraft unknown includes maintaining a power-safe attitude by switching between two orthogonal axes using solar panel current sensors. The system and method may also include simultaneously determining spacecraft attitude using a star sensor. The system is applicable to spacecraft operating in a solar wing-stowed configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2009
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: H. Grant Wang, Rongsheng Li
  • Patent number: 7410130
    Abstract: A method of determining the attitude of a spinning spacecraft is provided. The method includes stabilizing the spacecraft, initializing the attitude of the spacecraft using star tracker data, and estimating the attitude of the spacecraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: H. Grant Wang, David D. Needelman, Arun Prakash
  • Publication number: 20030106966
    Abstract: Methods and structures are provided that enhance the accuracy of the service attitude of an inclined-orbit spacecraft and, thereby, facilitate reduction of service error between a communication service area and the spacecraft's payload beam. The enhancement is realized by configuring a beacon-receiving antenna to have a beacon-receiving field-of-view that substantially matches a beacon-station window. Preferably, the beacon-receiving field-of-view is elongated and tilted to enhance its match with the beacon-station window in both size and orientation. The goals are also realized by configuring the beacon-receiving antenna to have a beacon-receiving field-of-view that is substantially smaller than the beacon-station window and successively steering a beacon-receiving boresight to successive beacon-receiving attitudes that maintain the beacon station within the beacon-receiving field-of-view over each solar day.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2001
    Publication date: June 12, 2003
    Applicant: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: H. Grant Wang, Richard Fowell