HighlightsThe formation flying of two E-sails in elliptic, heliocentric, displaced orbits is analyzed.The closed-form solution to the relative motion is parameterized in terms of differential displaced orbital elements.The approximate bounds of relative distances are analytically calculated for near-circular orbits.
AbstractWe present a geometrical methodology for analyzing the formation flying of electric solar wind sail based spacecraft that operate in heliocentric, elliptic, displaced orbits. The spacecraft orbit is maintained by adjusting its propulsive acceleration modulus, whose value is estimated using a thrust model that takes into account a variation of the propulsive performance with the sail attitude. The properties of the relative motion of the spacecraft are studied in detail and a geometrical solution is obtained in terms of relative displaced orbital elements, assumed to be small quantities. In particular, for the small eccentricity case (i.e. for a near-circular displaced orbit), the bounds characterized by the extreme values of relative distances are analytically calculated, thus providing an useful mathematical tool for preliminary design of the spacecraft formation structure.
Formation flying for electric sails in displaced orbits. Part I: Geometrical analysis
Advances in Space Research ; 60 , 6 ; 1115-1129
2017-05-09
15 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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