The control challenges for the Next Generation Gravity Mission

Canuto, Enrico; Jiménez, Amparo; Bacchetta, A.; Buonocore, M.; Cesare, Stefano; Girouart, Bénédicte; Massotti, Luca

doi:10.2514/6.2013-4639

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…Since the first preparatory ESA studies (Ref. [1][2][3][4], the control requirements have been evolved leading to the sub-set summarized in Table 2. Specifically, with respect to the previous NGGM AOCS study, the drag free and satellite pointing requirements have been updated according to the chosen mission orbit, AOCS sensors and actuators.…”

Section: Scientific Control Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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System and AOCS Challenges for the Design Consolidation of the Next Generation Gravity Mission

Dionisio

Anselmi

Cesare

et al. 2018

2018 AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference

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Since 2003 the European Space Agency (ESA) has promoted studies for the preparation of a "Next Generation Gravity Mission" (provisionally called NGGM) with the objective of measuring the temporal variations of the Earth gravity field over a long time span with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolutions. This mission will have huge impacts on many scientific disciplines based on the study of geophysical phenomena involving the redistribution and transportation of mass (e.g. geodesy, hydrology, ocean circulation) within the complex Earth system. To accomplish its objectives, the NGGM mission requires a number of innovations, both at technological level and on the control side, if compared to GOCE and GRACE missions. Therefore, it is presented an overview of the latest results of the ongoing "Consolidation of the system concept for the Next Generation Gravity Mission" study, carried out by Thales Alenia Space Italia (TAS-I) for the European Space Agency. This paper focuses on the NGGM mission challenges, with a particular care to the relevant system and AOCS technological innovations: the guidance, navigation and control design is provided, in its latest version, for the science phase of the NGGM mission. The model-based control unit is organized in a hierarchical way, where the "drag-free" control plays the role of a wide-band inner loop, and orbit/formation and attitude/pointing controls are narrow band outer loops. The relevant state equations were converted to discrete time providing the embedded model, a part of the control unit: the state predictor, control law, and reference generator were built on and interfaced to the embedded model. Simulated results, via a highfidelity simulator, prove the concept validity and show that the control performances are in agreement with the mission requirements. Indeed, the control strategy is shown to be capable of keeping the attitude and formation variables stable within the required boundaries, all over the 11-year mission, through a very fine and low thrust authority.

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Section: Scientific Control Requirementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the previous NGGM ESA's studies (Ref. [1][2][3][4] several options in terms of orbit altitude and inclination, formation geometry, number of satellite pairs, range of altitudes were considered with respect both the achievable performance and the feasibility aspects.…”

Section: Satellite Formations and Operational Orbitsmentioning

confidence: 99%