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Solar Wing Steering Law for Satellite Formation Flight

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Abstract

Satellite formation flight missions have long durations, so long-term perturbation effects (such as the J 2 effect) must be countered to maintain the formation. One possible approach to this problem is to affix a small reflective surface (called a “solar wing”) to the satellite: solar radiation pressure can then be harnessed to maintain formation flight. In this paper a full dynamic model for the long-term relative motion of formation flight is formulated, and an optimal solar wing steering law is devised for the formation-keeping problem. A numerical example is given to illustrate the approach.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Engineering Sciences Department, Embry-Riddle University, Daytona Beach, 32114-3900, Florida, USA

    Zhong-Sheng Wang (Visiting Assistant Professor)

  2. Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, 45221-0070, Ohio, USA

    Trevor Williams (Professor)

Authors
  1. Zhong-Sheng Wang
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  2. Trevor Williams
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhong-Sheng Wang.

Additional information

A preliminary version was presented as paper AAS 02-187 at the AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, San Antonio, TX, January 27–31, 2002.

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Wang, ZS., Williams, T. Solar Wing Steering Law for Satellite Formation Flight. J of Astronaut Sci 51, 227–246 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03546310

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03546310

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