ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 9 -- United States Patent no. 12,286,242, issued on April 29, was assigned to WildStar LLC (Hanover, N.H.).
"Magnetic control of spacecraft" was invented by Gregory Thane Wyler (Stuart, Fla.), Bobby Glenn Holden (Somerville, Mass.) and Manwei Chan (Cambridge, Mass.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "A method for controlling a satellite using magnetics only, and a control system for implementing the method. The method involves assessing a current attitude of a satellite at a current time and location using magnetometry; setting a desired attitude for the satellite at a future time in a future location; developing a set of waypoints that provide the attitude of the satellite a...