Abstract
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages | IAC10-C1.2.7 |
| Publication status | Published - 27 Sep 2010 |
| Event | 61st International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2010 - Prague, Czech Republic Duration: 27 Sep 2010 → 1 Oct 2010 |
Conference
| Conference | 61st International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2010 |
|---|---|
| City | Prague, Czech Republic |
| Period | 27/09/10 → 1/10/10 |
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Keywords
- electrochromic coating
- smart dust
- inflatable spacecraft
- solar radiation pressure (SRP)
- numerical simulation
- spacecraft formation
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Orbit control of high area-to-mass ratio spacecraft using electrochromic coating. / Lucking, Charlotte; Colombo, C.; McInnes, C.R.
2010. IAC10-C1.2.7 Paper presented at 61st International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2010, Prague, Czech Republic, .Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper
TY - CONF
T1 - Orbit control of high area-to-mass ratio spacecraft using electrochromic coating
AU - Lucking, Charlotte
AU - Colombo, C.
AU - McInnes, C.R.
PY - 2010/9/27
Y1 - 2010/9/27
N2 - This paper presents a novel method for the orbit control of high area-to-mass ratio spacecraft, such as spacecraft-on-a-chip, future „smart dust‟ devices and inflatable spacecraft. By changing the reflectivity coefficient of an electrochromic coating of the spacecraft, the perturbing effect of solar radiation pressure (SRP) is exploited to enable long-lived orbits and to control formations, without the need for propellant consumption or active pointing. The spacecraft is coated with a thin film of an electrochromic material that changes its reflectivity coefficient when a small current is applied. The change of reflectance alters the fraction of the radiation pressure force that is transmitted to the satellite, and hence has a direct effect on the spacecraft orbit evolution. The orbital element space is analysed to identify orbits which can be stabilised with electrochromic orbit control. A closed-loop feedback control method using an artificial potential field approach is introduced to stabilise these otherwise unsteady orbits. The stability of this solution is analysed and verified through numerical simulation. Finally, a test case is simulated in which the control method is used to perform orbital manoeuvres for a spacecraft formation.
AB - This paper presents a novel method for the orbit control of high area-to-mass ratio spacecraft, such as spacecraft-on-a-chip, future „smart dust‟ devices and inflatable spacecraft. By changing the reflectivity coefficient of an electrochromic coating of the spacecraft, the perturbing effect of solar radiation pressure (SRP) is exploited to enable long-lived orbits and to control formations, without the need for propellant consumption or active pointing. The spacecraft is coated with a thin film of an electrochromic material that changes its reflectivity coefficient when a small current is applied. The change of reflectance alters the fraction of the radiation pressure force that is transmitted to the satellite, and hence has a direct effect on the spacecraft orbit evolution. The orbital element space is analysed to identify orbits which can be stabilised with electrochromic orbit control. A closed-loop feedback control method using an artificial potential field approach is introduced to stabilise these otherwise unsteady orbits. The stability of this solution is analysed and verified through numerical simulation. Finally, a test case is simulated in which the control method is used to perform orbital manoeuvres for a spacecraft formation.
KW - electrochromic coating
KW - smart dust
KW - inflatable spacecraft
KW - solar radiation pressure (SRP)
KW - numerical simulation
KW - spacecraft formation
M3 - Paper
SP - IAC10-C1.2.7
ER -