Projects per year
Abstract
The paper provides a survey of novel mission concepts for continuous, hemispheric polar observation and direct-link polar telecommunications. It is well known that these services cannot be provided by traditional platforms: geostationary satellites do not cover high-latitude regions, while low- and medium-orbit Sun-synchronous spacecraft only cover a narrow swath of the Earth at each passage. Concepts that are proposed in the literature are described, including the pole-sitter concept (in which a spacecraft is stationary above the pole), spacecraft in artificial equilibrium points in the Sun-Earth system and non-Keplerian polar Molniya orbits. Additionally, novel displaced eight-shaped orbits at Lagrangian points are presented. For many of these concepts, a continuous acceleration is required and propulsion systems include solar electric propulsion, solar sail and a hybridisation of the two. Advantages and drawbacks of each mission concept are assessed, and a comparison in terms of high-latitude coverage and distance, spacecraft mass, payload and lifetime is presented. Finally, the paper will describe a number of potential applications enabled by these concepts, focusing on polar Earth observation and telecommunications.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 17 |
Publication status | Published - 3 Oct 2011 |
Event | 62nd International Astronautical Congress 2011 - Cape Town, South Africa Duration: 3 Oct 2011 → 7 Oct 2011 |
Conference
Conference | 62nd International Astronautical Congress 2011 |
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Country/Territory | South Africa |
City | Cape Town |
Period | 3/10/11 → 7/10/11 |
Keywords
- Earth observation
- pole-sitter
- high-latitude observation
- telecommunications
- space mission concepts
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Dive into the research topics of 'The pole-sitter mission concept: an overview of recent developments and possible future applications'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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VISIONSPACE - VISIONARY SPACE SYSTEMS: ORBITAL DYNAMICS AT EXTREMES OF SPACECRAFT LENGTH SCALE (ERC ADVANCED GRANT)
McInnes, C.
European Commission - FP7 - European Research Council
1/02/09 → 30/09/14
Project: Research