Spacecraft attitude control apparatus and method

A spacecraft includes a plurality of thrusters (1-8) mounted at predetermined locations on a spacecraft structure, individual ones of the plurality of thrusters being fired for generating a torque about a desired axis. The firing of a thruster is partitioned into two firings that are offset in time by an amount Δt, wherein Δt = (1/2) x (1/F) x SF, where F is a dominant modal frequency, in Hertz, for any particular axis (nominally the 1st mode) of the spacecraft structure, and where SF is a scale factor that is adjustable about the frequency. In a presently preferred embodiment the thruster is a low thrust thruster that is mounted on a solar array panel, and the thrusters are fired in pairs.