Exact solutions to Euler's equations for rigid body motion with application to detumbling satellites

Abstract: Exact solutions are found for Euler's equations of rigid body motion for general asymmetrical bodies under the influence of torque by using Jacobi elliptic functions. Differential equations are determined for the amplitudes and the parameters of the elliptic functions. The solution is then applied to the detumbling of a satellite with arbitrary initial rotation rates where numerical solutions are seen to be in agreement with the analytical solution. The body fixed frame solution is then transformed to the inertial frame by use of a quaternion rotation matrix to depict the motion in figures and in animations within a Mathematica notebook which is openly published on the Wolfram community.