Collision-Avoidance Maneuver of Satellites Using Drag and Solar Radiation Pressure

Mishne, David; Edlerman, Eviatar

doi:10.2514/1.g002376

Cited by 22 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Such control may be particularly relevant at very low altitude where aerodynamic torques may cause the rapid saturation of momentum-based actuators. However, at present only orbit control methods utilising differential drag for collision avoidance [37,38] and constellation deployment/maintenance [39][40][41] have been demonstrated in-orbit. Similarly, aerodynamic attitude control in the form of trim and momentum management has only been demonstrated on MagSat [42,43]).…”

Section: N Armentioning

confidence: 99%

System Modelling of Very Low Earth Orbit Satellites for Earth Observation

Crisp,

Roberts,

Smith

et al. 2021

Preprint

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The operation of satellites in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) has been linked to a variety of benefits to both the spacecraft platform and mission design. Critically, for Earth observation (EO) missions a reduction in altitude can enable smaller and less powerful payloads to achieve the same performance as larger instruments or sensors at higher altitude, with significant benefits to the spacecraft design. As a result, renewed interest in the exploitation of these orbits has spurred the development of new technologies that have the potential to enable sustainable operations in this lower altitude range. In this paper, system models are developed for (i) novel materials that improve aerodynamic performance enabling reduced drag or increased lift production and resistance to atomic oxygen erosion and (ii) atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP) for sustained drag compensation or mitigation in VLEO. Attitude and orbit control methods that can take advantage of the aerodynamic forces and torques in VLEO are also discussed. These system models are integrated into a framework for concept-level satellite design and this approach is used to explore the system-level trade-offs for future EO spacecraft enabled by these new technologies. A case-study presented for an optical very-high resolution spacecraft demonstrates the significant potential of reducing orbital altitude using these technologies and indicates possible savings of up to 75 % in system mass and over 50 % in development and manufacturing costs in comparison to current state-of-the-art missions. For a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite, the reduction in mass and cost with altitude were shown to be smaller, though it was noted that currently available cost models do not capture recent commercial advancements in this segment. These results account for the additional propulsive and power requirements needed to sustain operations in VLEO and indicate that future EO missions could benefit significantly by operating in this altitude range. Furthermore, it is shown that only modest advancements in technologies already under development may begin to enable exploitation of this lower altitude range. In addition to the upstream benefits of reduced capital expense and a faster return on investment, lower costs and increased access to high quality observational data may also be passed to the downstream EO industry, with impact across a wide range of commercial, societal, and environmental application areas.

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Section: N Armentioning

confidence: 99%

System Modelling of Very Low Earth Orbit Satellites for Earth Observation

Crisp,

Roberts,

Smith

et al. 2021

Preprint

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“…However, the provided review most certainly covers the main efforts and provides a valuable overview of the progressions made. Unfortunately, some topic related articles were found but not accessible to the author [33][34][35][36][37][38].…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the exploitation of differential aerodynamic lift and drag as a means to control satellite formation flight

et al. 2019

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In order for a satellite formation to maintain its intended design despite present perturbations (formation keeping), to change the formation design (reconfiguration) or to perform a rendezvous maneuver, control forces need to be generated. To do so, chemical and/or electric thrusters are currently the methods of choice. However, their utilization has detrimental effects on small satellites' limited mass, volume and power budgets. Since the mid-eighties, the potential of using differential drag as a means of propellant-less source of control for satellite formation flight is actively researched. This method consists of varying the aerodynamic drag experienced by different spacecraft, thus generating differential accelerations between them. Its main disadvantage, that its controllability is mainly limited to the in-plain relative motion, can be overcome by using differential lift as a means to control the out-of-plane motion. Due to its promising benefits, a variety of studies from researchers around the world have enhanced the state-of-the-art over the past decades which results in a multitude of available literature. In this paper, an extensive literature review of the efforts which led to the current state-of-the-art of different lift and drag based satellite formation control is presented. Based on the insights gained during the review process, key knowledge gaps that need to be addressed in the field of differential lift in order to enhance the current state-of-the-art are revealed and discussed. In closer detail, the interdependence between the feasibility domain / the maneuver time and increased differential lift forces achieved using advanced satellite surface materials promoting quasi-specular or specular reflection, as currently being developed in the course of the DISCOVERER project, is discussed. Keywords Satellite aerodynamics • differential lift • differential drag • formation flight control • propellant less control Acknowledgements This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 737183. This reflects only the author's view and the European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. The author would like to thank the reviewers, the DISCOVERER team as well as several colleagues from IRS for their valuable feedback and suggestions.

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“…where ≈ 4.56 × 10 −6 Nm −2 is the constant of the SRP, accounts for the mean reflectivity of the surface, A is the spacecraft cross-sectional area assumed constant, m is the mass of the spacecraft, AU is the Astronomical Unit, and the norm of ⊙ /‖ ⊙ ‖ 3 ⋅ AU 2 approximates 1. SRP model in (10) has been widely used in analyzing the effect of SRP on spacecraft absolute orbit and relative motion between two spacecraft [12,39,40]. It is noted that model of differential SRP perturbation in (10) is derived with assumption that the normal vector of spacecraft's surface points in the direction of the Sun [41].…”

Section: Differential 2 Perturbation the Most Important Nonsphericalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The magnitude of the differential SRP perturbation mainly depends on the product of and . As for two orbital spacecraft, the may reach 0.02 [39], and then the differential SRP perturbation may have similar order of magnitude with the differential Mathematical Problems in Engineering 5 spherical Earth gravity, which denotes that relative dynamics of GEO nearby flying cannot be simplified as CW equations with neglecting the perturbations. Additionally, under the following assumptions:…”

Section: Differential 2 Perturbation the Most Important Nonsphericalmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Automated Orbital Transfer and Hovering Control Using Artificial Potential

Wang

Zhang

2019

Mathematical Problems in Engineering

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On-orbit servicing for GEO targets has attracted great attention due to particular significance. In this study, the GEO nearby flying is considered, which denotes that the servicing spacecraft approaches GEO targets within tens of meters. Based on the analysis of differential spherical Earth gravity, J2 perturbation, third-body perturbation, and solar radiation pressure (SRP) between two spacecraft, a relative dynamics of GEO nearby flying is built, in which the differential SRP has great influence on relative motion. Therein, considering the differential SRP, an analytical solution to relative dynamics is obtained, which is an extension to CW equation’s solution. Based on the derived relative dynamics, a novel control method utilizing feedback compensation and artificial potential is developed for spacecraft orbital transfer and hovering at the desired position. During orbital transfer, a bounded space is constrained with maximum and minimum relative distance between two spacecraft. An improved repulsive potential based on Gauss function is designed to drive the servicer off the bound and guarantee the potential value converge to zero at the desired position. Meanwhile, a novel attractive potential about relative distance that drives the servicer to the desired position and to hover with high accuracy against perturbations is designed. Besides, a velocity potential with variable gain is designed to ensure that the servicer achieve the desired position without overshoot. The stability of the system is proved with Lyapunov theory, and the feasibility of the proposed control law is verified through numerical simulations with obvious advantages.

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Collision-Avoidance Maneuver of Satellites Using Drag and Solar Radiation Pressure

Cited by 22 publications

References 17 publications

System Modelling of Very Low Earth Orbit Satellites for Earth Observation

System Modelling of Very Low Earth Orbit Satellites for Earth Observation

On the exploitation of differential aerodynamic lift and drag as a means to control satellite formation flight

Automated Orbital Transfer and Hovering Control Using Artificial Potential

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