Orbit evolution, maintenance and disposal of SpaceChip swarms through electro-chromic control
Orbit evolution, maintenance and disposal of SpaceChip swarms through electro-chromic control
The combined effect of solar radiation pressure, Earth oblateness and atmospheric drag on the orbital dynamics of satellites-on-a-chip (SpaceChips) is investigated for future swarm mission concepts. The natural evolution of the swarm is exploited to perform spatially distributed measurements of the upper layers of the atmosphere. The energy gain from asymmetric solar radiation pressure can be used to balance the energy dissipation from atmospheric drag. An algorithm for long-term orbit control is then designed, based on changing the reflectivity coefficient of the SpaceChips. The subsequent modulation of the solar radiation pressure allows stabilisation of the swarm in the orbital element phase space. It is shown that the orbit lifetime for such devices can be extended through the interaction of solar radiation pressure and atmospheric drag and indeed selected and the end-of-life re-entry of the swarm can be ensured, by exploiting atmospheric drag.
Colombo, Camilla
595ced96-9494-40f2-9763-ad4a0f96bc86
Lücking, Charlotte
fd25bf1e-2dd3-4cdf-bee4-92c21d3a5ef2
McInnes, Colin R.
7cc26e55-9787-4f37-b359-400fe66e2468
12 July 2012
Colombo, Camilla
595ced96-9494-40f2-9763-ad4a0f96bc86
Lücking, Charlotte
fd25bf1e-2dd3-4cdf-bee4-92c21d3a5ef2
McInnes, Colin R.
7cc26e55-9787-4f37-b359-400fe66e2468
Colombo, Camilla, Lücking, Charlotte and McInnes, Colin R.
(2012)
Orbit evolution, maintenance and disposal of SpaceChip swarms through electro-chromic control.
Acta Astronautica.
(doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2012.05.035).
Abstract
The combined effect of solar radiation pressure, Earth oblateness and atmospheric drag on the orbital dynamics of satellites-on-a-chip (SpaceChips) is investigated for future swarm mission concepts. The natural evolution of the swarm is exploited to perform spatially distributed measurements of the upper layers of the atmosphere. The energy gain from asymmetric solar radiation pressure can be used to balance the energy dissipation from atmospheric drag. An algorithm for long-term orbit control is then designed, based on changing the reflectivity coefficient of the SpaceChips. The subsequent modulation of the solar radiation pressure allows stabilisation of the swarm in the orbital element phase space. It is shown that the orbit lifetime for such devices can be extended through the interaction of solar radiation pressure and atmospheric drag and indeed selected and the end-of-life re-entry of the swarm can be ensured, by exploiting atmospheric drag.
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Published date: 12 July 2012
Organisations:
Astronautics Group
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 342327
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/342327
ISSN: 0094-5765
PURE UUID: 2ad461b8-923a-40f2-8c23-e7c1f3baf113
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Date deposited: 22 Aug 2012 10:45
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 11:49
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Contributors
Author:
Camilla Colombo
Author:
Charlotte Lücking
Author:
Colin R. McInnes
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