Abstract: Nonlinear coupled dynamics of a liquid-filled spherical container in microgravity are investigated. The governing equations of the low-gravity liquid sloshing in a convex axisymmetrical container subjected to lateral excitation is obtained by the variational principle and solved with a modal analysis method. The variational formulas are transformed into a frequency equation in the form of a standard eigenvalue problem by the Galerkin method, in which admissible functions for the velocity potential and the liquid free surface displacement are determined analytically in terms of the Gaussian hypergeometric series. The coupled dynamic equations of the liquid-filled container are derived using the Lagrange's method and are numerically solved. The time histories of the modal solutions are obtained in numerical simulations.

Key words: microgravity, liquid-filled system, coupled dynamics, liquid sloshing, spacecraft