Drift-free solar sail formations in elliptical Sun-synchronous orbits

This paper presents the results of a numerical evaluation of the natural lifetime reduction in low Earth orbit, due to dynamical perturbations. The study considers two values for the area-to-mass ratio, a nominal ratio which resembles a typical value of spacecraft in orbit today, and an enhanced ratio which covers the surface augmentation. The results were obtained with two orbit propagators, one of a semi-analytical nature and the second one using non-averaged equations of motion. The simulations for both propagators were set up similarly to allow comparison. They both use the solar radiation pressure and the secular terms of the geopotential (J2,J4 and J6). The atmospheric drag was turned on and off in both propagators to alternatively study the eccentricity build up and the residual lifetime. The non-averaging case also covers a validation with the full 6 × 6 geopotential. The results confirm the findings in previous publications, that is, the possibility for de-orbiting from altitudes above the residual atmosphere if a solar sail is deployed at the end-of-life, due to the combined effect of solar radiation pressure and the oblateness of the Earth. At near polar inclinations, shadowing effects can be exploited to the same end. The results obtained with the full, non-averaging propagator revealed additional de-orbiting corridors associated with solar radiation pressure which were not found by previous work on space debris mitigation. The results of both tools are compared for specific initial conditions. For nominal values of area-to-mass ratio, instead, it is confirmed that this resonance effect is negligible.The paper then puts the findings in the perspective of the current satellite catalogue. It identifies space missions which are currently close to a resonance corridor and shows the orbit evolution within the resonances with a significantly shorter residual orbital lifetime. The paper finishes with a discussion on the exploitation of these effects with regards to the long-term simulation of the space debris environment and a flux and collision probability comparison.

Solar radiation pressure effects are exploited on-board satellites since about four decades. Control concepts have been developed using solar radiation forces with practical applications focusing on attitude control of communications satellites. The forces and torques induced by solar radiation pressure can substantially alter the orbital and attitude behavior of spacecraft especially in long duration missions. Furthermore, the effects are amplified for large structures such as solar sails. The present work analyzes the long term effect of the solar radiation torques on the evolution of the spin axis attitude pointing of any type of spacecraft (e.g., Earth-orbiting spacecraft, deep space probes, and solar sails). Analytic models are presented that can be applied to spacecraft of an arbitrary geometrical shape. Compact results are established that predict the annual drift of the spacecraft spin axis under solar radiation torques. The models presented will be useful for the design of spacecraft attitude control systems as well as for space mission planning.

The focus of this paper is on the exploration of the $$a$$ and $$g$$ - $$g'$$ families of planar symmetric periodic orbits around minor bodies under the effect of solar radiation pressure (SRP). An extended Hill problem with SRP allows the study of spacecraft trajectories in the vicinity of asteroids orbiting the Sun. The evolution of the $$a$$ and $$g$$ - $$g'$$ families is presented with SRP increasing from the classical Hill problem to levels characteristic of current and future planned missions to minor bodies, as well as one extreme case with very large SRP for a small asteroid. In addition, the implications of considering a spherical body are analysed, in terms of trajectories colliding with the asteroid and eclipses, which limits the feasibility of various family branches. Finally, the influence of SRP on the linear stability of feasible orbits is calculated.

The use of solar radiation pressure for reconfiguration of spacecraft formations near one of the collinear sun-Earth libration points is examined. Specifically, it is considered whether spacecraft that are equipped with sun-facing thermal shields can exploit the solar radiation pressure force that acts on them to perform gradual relative maneuvering. Small shield off-pointing angles give rise to differential solar radiation pressure forces that are essentially perpendicular to the sun line: The effect of these small differential forces on the relative motion of the spacecraft in the formation is, therefore, quite different from that of the total (down-sun) solar force on the absolute orbital motion. First, the linearized equations of relative motion for libration point formations under differential solar radiation forcing are set up, with the sun shield off-pointing angle taken as the control input variable. The range of validity of these equations is examined. The effect of solar radiation pressure on the absolute motion is also analyzed, and the station-keeping issue is avoided by shifting the original libration point to a new equilibrium point. These equations are then used to study the existence and properties of solution trajectories that take the spacecraft from a given initial formation geometry to a desired final one. When the vector control produced by solar radiation pressure is reduced to a scalar one, the existence and properties of time-optimal trajectories based on bang-bang control theory are analyzed. Comparisons made between these two types of transfer trajectories show that the former possess simpler steering of sun shields, whereas the latter have a shorter transfer time and more reachable points in the target orbit.

Cable-connected satellites in elliptical orbits are subject to nonlinear effects from solar radiation pressure and Earth's magnetic field, which can impact their stability and performance. This literature review provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of research on these nonlinear effects. We examine the individual and combined effects of solar radiation pressure and Earth's magnetic field on the stability of cable-connected satellites in elliptical orbits, including nonlinear dynamics, chaos, and bifurcations. Our review highlights the key findings, methodologies, and limitations of existing studies, and identifies areas for future research. The results of this review can inform the design and operation of cable-connected satellites in elliptical orbits, ensuring their stability and performance in the presence of these nonlinear effects.

In this work, the Hamiltonian of the four-body problem is considered under the effects of solar radiation pressure. The equations of motion of the infinitesimal body are obtained in the Hamiltonian canonical form. The libration points and the corresponding Jacobi constants are obtained with different values of the solar radiation pressure coefficient. The motion and its stability about each point are studied. A family of periodic orbits under the effects of the gravitational forces of the primaries and the solar radiation pressure are obtained depending on the pure numerical method. This purpose is applied to the Sun-Earth-Moon-Space craft system, and the results obtained are in a good agreement with the previous work such as (Kumari and Papadouris, 2013).

Expressions for thermal deflections of uniform thin beams and plates exposed to solar heating are obtained as a function of the properties of the material and the solar incidence angle. The major effect of the solar radiation pressure interacting with the thermally deformed structure is found to give rise to disturbance moments on the structure. The thermal deformations of the structures are assumed to be within 0.1 percent of the characteristic length of the structure. With the assumed thermal deformations, the resulting uncontrolled transient responses of these geosynchronous orbiting structures to the solar radiation pressure induced disturbances are simulated. The resulting rigid modal oscillations are found to be an order of magnitude larger than for those cases previously considered in which only the solar radiation pressure effect on vibrating structures was treated. Modifications of control laws and/or the feedback gain values are considered in order to improve the transient response characteristics under the thermally induced disturbances.

The long period dynamics of Sun-synchronous orbits near the critical inclination 116.6° are investigated. It is known that, at the critical inclination, the average perigee location is unchanged by Earth oblateness. For certain values of semimajor axis and eccentricity, orbit plane precession caused by Earth oblateness is synchronous with the mean orbital motion of the apparent Sun (a Sun-synchronism). Sun-synchronous orbits have been used extensively in meteorological and remote sensing satellite missions. Gravitational perturbations arising from an aspherical Earth, the Moon, and the Sun cause long period fluctuations in the mean argument of perigee, eccentricity, inclination, and ascending node. Double resonance occurs because slow oscillations in the perigee and Sun-referenced ascending node are coupled through the solar gravity gradient. It is shown that the total number and infinitesimal stability of equilibrium solutions can change abruptly over the Sun-synchronous range of semimajor axis values (1.54 to 1.70 Earth radii). The effect of direct solar radiation pressure upon certain stable equilibria is investigated.

This article reports an investigation of the effect of solar radiation pressure on the motion of an artificial satellite. The theory has been applied to the orbit of the Vanguard I satellite, and is found to produce significant perturbations in the perigee height of that satellite. In the case of a satellite with a large ratio of area to mass the major terms introduced by solar radiation pressure can reduce the perigee distance at the rate of 1 to 2 km per day, so that the lifetime of the satellite will become considerably shorter than it would be without this effect.

Context.Enigmatic dynamical and spectral properties of the first interstellar object (ISO), 1I/2017 U1 (Oumuamua), led to many hypotheses, including a suggestion that it may be an “artificial” spacecraft with a thin radiation-pressure-driven light sail. Since similar discoveries by forthcoming instruments, such as theVera C. Rubintelescope and the Chinese Space Station Telescope (CSST), are anticipated, a critical identification of key observable tests is warranted for the quantitative distinctions between various scenarios.Aims.We scrutinize the light-sail scenario by making comparisons between physical models and observational constraints. These analyses can be generalized for future surveys of ‘Oumuamua-like objects.Methods.The light sail goes through a drift in interstellar space due to the magnetic field and gas atoms, which poses challenges to the navigation system. When the light sail enters the inner Solar System, the sideways radiation pressure leads to a considerable non-radial displacement. The immensely high dimensional ratio and the tumbling motion could cause a light curve with an extremely large amplitude and could even make the light sail invisible from time to time. These observational features allow us to examine the light-sail scenario of interstellar objects.Results.The drift of the freely rotating light sail in the interstellar medium is ~100 au even if the travel distance is only 1 pc. The probability of the expected brightness modulation of the light sail matching with ‘Oumuamua’s observed variation amplitude (~2.5–3) is <1.5%. In addition, the probability of the tumbling light sail being visible (brighter thanV= 27) in all 55 observations spread over two months after discovery is 0.4%. Radiation pressure could cause a larger displacement normal to the orbital plane for a light sail than that for ‘Oumuamua. Also, the ratio of antisolar to sideways acceleration of ‘Oumuamua deviates from that of the light sail by ~1.5σ.Conclusions.We suggest that ‘Oumuamua is unlikely to be a light sail. The dynamics of an intruding light sail, if it exists, has distinct observational signatures, which can be quantitatively identified and analyzed with our methods in future surveys.

The OSIRIS cameras onboard ESA’s Rosetta spacecraft observed comet 9P/Tempel 1 near-continuously from 28 June until 14 July 2005. The Narrow Angle Camera (NAC) monitored the cometary dust, while the wide angle camera (WAC) observed through filters sensitive to emissions of OH, CN, OI, Na, and the associated continuum.The brightness of the dust increased by a factor of 4.5 within 30 minutes, measured in a circular aperture of 3000 km radius centered on the nucleus. The brightening is likely caused by ejection of material from the crater, decreasing optical depth of the ejecta, and the evaporation of icy grains in the ejecta cloud. The dust moved with a typical velocity of 160 ms-1, suggesting acceleration of the dust by gas in the inner cometary coma. Images of the dust cloud taken several days after the impact show the effect of solar radiation pressure. The size distribution derived from an analysis of the radiation pressure is comparable to that commonly observed in cometary comae.The increase of the intensity of the OH emission due to the impact corresponds to a water production of (1.5–3)× 1032 molecules. The dust production depends on the uncertain amount of large dust grains ejected by the impact, but the dust/gas ratio is likely to be larger than one.KeywordsLight CurveRadiation PressureDust CloudSolar Radiation PressureDeep ImpactThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Several non-functional objects are orbiting around the Earth and they are called space debris. In this work, we investigate the process of space debris mitigation from the GEO region using a solar sail. The acceleration induced by the solar radiation pressure (SRP) is the most relevant perturbation for objects in orbit around the Earth with a high area-to-mass ratio (A/m). We consider the single-averaged SRP model with the Sun in an elliptical and inclined orbit. In addition to the SRP effect, the orbital evolution of space debris is analyzed considering the perturbations due to the Earth’s flattening and third-body perturbations in the dynamical system. The idea is to use the solar sail as a propulsion system using the Sun itself as a clean and abundant energy source so that it can remove space debris from the geostationary orbit and also contribute to the sustainability of space exploration. Using averaged dynamical maps as a tool, the numerical simulations show that the solar sail contributes strongly to exciting the eccentricity of the space debris, causing its reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. To perform the numerical simulations, we consider data from real space debris. We also show that the solar sail can be used to remove space debris for a graveyard orbit. In this way, the solar sail can work as a clean and sustainable space-debris-removal mechanism. Finally, we show that the convenient choice of the argument of perigee and the longitude of the ascending node might contribute to amplify the growth of eccentricity. It is also shown that solar radiation pressure destroys the symmetry of the orbits that can be observed in keplerian orbits, so all the orbits will be asymmetric when considering the presence of this force.

Circumplanetary Dust Dynamics: Effects of Solar Gravity, Radiation Pressure, Planetary Oblateness, and Electromagnetism

Solar sails propel using solar radiation pressure, and CNUSAIL-1 is a 3U-sized cube satellite with 4m area solar sail. This paper describes attitude controller and carries out numerical simulations for that cube satellite that is equipped with small solar sail. The satellite must perform nadir pointing maneuver for testing effects of the solar sail with minimum aerodynamic drag in a circular orbit of 700km altitude. For the purpose of nadir pointing operation, B-dot controller and PD quaternion feedback controller are implemented by taking into account three-axis magnetic torquer and reaction wheel as actuator. To verify the feasibility and performance of the proposed controller, the simulations consider external disturbances such as aerodynamic drag, solar radiation pressure and gravity gradient . The simulations show that the satellite can be detumbled within 5 orbit periods from tip-off rate due to ejection from the P-POD, and stabilized within 10 orbit period from the body rate because of sail deployment. Furthermore, the simulations verify that the controller can stabilize the attitude for the nadir-pointing mode when sail is deployed.

Chapter 10 - Introduction to orbital perturbations