Dynamics of Multibody Systems in Space Environment; Lagrangian vs. Eulerian Approach

The paper describes the motion of a multibody in space environment: by space environment we mean space-varying gravity, gradient forces, control forces, if any. . Two different formulation have been outlined, compared and discussed,Comparison of the two approaches shows perfect agreement (as one should have expected), since they are both exact models referring to the same physical system. In general, however, the Eulerian approach lends itself to a better understanding of physical facts, in particular, of the entity of the reactions and of the corresponding structural stresses