In this paper we consider the problem of optimal control of the model for a rotating body beam, which describes the dynamics of motion of a beam attached perpendicularly to the center of a rigid cylinder and rotating with the cylinder. The control is applied on the cylinder via a torque to suppress the vibrations of the beam. We prove that there exists at least one optimal control and derive a necessary condition for the control. Furthermore, on the basis of iteration method, we propose numerical approximation scheme to calculate the optimal control and give numeric examples.