Evaluating Modular Reconfigurability for Auxiliary Attitude Control in Space Structures

The evolution of spaceborne structures is increasingly driven by modular design principles that enable adaptable, scalable, and multifunctional operational capabilities. From deployable arrays to robotic servicing platforms, such modularity is redefining how spacecraft adapt to evolving mission requirements. In this work, we investigate how structural metamorphism within multifunctional modular assemblies can be exploited as an auxiliary attitude-control mechanism for spacecraft. We consider an ideal reconfigurable modular chain–spacecraft assembly in which the modular units can fold, deploy, and reorient relative to one another, thereby altering the overall configuration and tuning the spacecraft’s inertia properties through internal momentum exchange. To evaluate the resulting attitude-control capability, we develop a three-dimensional multibody dynamics simulation framework that models reconfigurable modular assemblies attached to a base spacecraft hub under free-floating conditions. Numerical results show that appropriately designed reconfiguration sequences of the modular units can generate desired counter-translations and rotations of the base hub. We demonstrate that the achievable attitude-control maneuvers are strongly influenced by both the sequence and the combination of modularreconfigurations. Moreover, navigating alternate morphing paths to the same final configuration yields distinct inertia-evolution trajectories, each imparting a unique influence on the spacecraft orientation. We further investigate the influence of inter-module connectivity on the attainable attitude-control range, highlighting the potential of reconfigurable modular structures to serve as an auxiliary attitude-control system and to support extended operational lifetimes for advanced space missions.