Small Satellite Rendezvous Using Differential Lift and Drag

Horsley, Matthew A.; Nikolaev, Sergei; Pertica, Alex

doi:10.2514/1.57327

Cited by 47 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Even though the method of differential drag is being actively researched since 1986, it was not until 2011 that Horsley et al [20,88] proposed atmospheric lift as a means to control the out-of-plane motion in order to achieve a rendezvous in all three translational degrees of freedom. In a first publication, Horsley [20] assumed that the in-plane motion has already been controlled by other means and focusses on controlling the residual harmonic motion in the out-of-plane direction ( -direction).…”

Section: Rendezvous Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

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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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Section: Rendezvous Scenariomentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3 and 4). In a follow up publication Horsley et al [88] compared both possible control options for the second phase. For the chosen set of initial condition analyzed, differential lift lead to a 40% shorter maneuver time.…”

Section: Rendezvous Scenariomentioning

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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“…a z ϭ 0) where the pair of satellites are coasting ( Figure 6). The control law used in this paper has been studied in previous research, and further information can be found in previous study (Horsley et al, 2013). The objective of the control algorithm is to drive the time-average relative position and deviation to zero with independent control logic in the relative in-plane motion.…”

Section: Out-of-plane Motionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Satellite rendezvous using differential aerodynamic forces under J2 perturbation

Shao

Song

Zhang

et al. 2015

Aircraft Eng & Aerospace Tech

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2015),"Closed-loop atmospheric ascent guidance based on finite element method", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 87 Iss 5 pp. 393-401 http://dx.If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this paper is to present a method to conduct small satellite rendezvous mission by using the differential aerodynamic forces under J2 perturbation in low earth orbit (LEO). Design/methodology/approach -Each spacecraft is assumed to be equipped with two large flat plates, which can be controlled for generating differential accelerations in all three directions. Based on the kinetic theory, the aerodynamic lift and drag generated by a flat plate are calculated. To describe the relative dynamics under J2 perturbation, a modified model is derived from the high-fidelity linearized J2 equations proposed by Schweighart and Sedwick. Findings -Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method is valid and efficient to solve satellite rendezvous problem, and the modified model considering J2 effect shows better accuracy than the Horsley's Clohessy-Wiltshire-based model. Research limitations/implications -Because aerodynamic force will reduce drastically as orbital altitude rises, the rendezvous control strategy for small satellites presented in this paper should be limited to the scenarios when satellites are in LEO. Practical implications -The rendezvous control method in this paper can be applied to solve satellite rendezvous maneuver problem for small satellites in LEO. Originality/value -This paper proposes a modified differential aerodynamic control model by considering J2 perturbation, and simulation results show that it can achieve higher rendezvous control accuracy.

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“…[1][2][3]). Various control algorithms using differential aerodynamic drag have been proposed in numerous publications, see [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. One of the fundamental publications is the work by Leonard [17] where, based on the assumption of the possibility of changing the effective cross-section of satellites, a method of switching control has been developed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Control of Two Satellites Relative Motion over the Packet Erasure Communication Channel with Limited Transmission Rate Based on Adaptive Coder

2020

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The paper deals with the navigation data exchange between two satellites moving in a swarm. It is focused on the reduction of the inter-satellite demanded communication channel capacity taking into account the dynamics of the satellites relative motion and possible erasures in the channel navigation data. The feedback control law is designed ensuring the regulation of the relative satellites motion. The adaptive binary coding/decoding procedure for the satellites navigation data transmission over the limited capacity communication channel is proposed and studied for the cases of ideal and erasure channels. Results of the numerical study of the closed-loop system performance and accuracy of the data transmission algorithm on the communication channel bitrate and erasure probability are obtained by extensive simulations. It is shown that both data transmission error and regulation time depend approximately inversely proportionally on the communication rate. In addition the erasure of data in the channel with probability up to 0.3 does not influence the regulation time for sufficiently high data transmission rate.

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Small Satellite Rendezvous Using Differential Lift and Drag

Cited by 47 publications

References 18 publications

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

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

Satellite rendezvous using differential aerodynamic forces under J2 perturbation

Control of Two Satellites Relative Motion over the Packet Erasure Communication Channel with Limited Transmission Rate Based on Adaptive Coder

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