The NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) fire thrusters to remain within a 1deg longitude-latitude box and to dump accumulated angular momentum. In the past, maneuvers have disrupted GOES imaging due to attitude transients and the loss of orbit knowledge. If the R-series of spacecraft to be launched starting in 2012 were to follow current practice, maneuvers would still fail to meet Image Navigation and Registration (INR) specifications during and after thruster firings. Although maneuvers and recovery take only one percent of spacecraft lifetime, they sometimes come at inopportune times, such as hurricane season, when coverage is critical. To alleviate this problem, thruster firings small enough not to affect imaging are being considered. Eliminating post-maneuver recovery periods increases availability and facilitates autonomous operation. Frequent maneuvers also reduce 1ongitudeAatitude variation and allow satellite co-location. Improved orbit observations come from a high-altitude GPS receiver, and improved attitude control comes from thruster torque compensation. This paper reviews the effects of thruster firings on position knowledge and pointing control and suggests that low-thrust burns plus GPS and feedforward control offer a less disruptive approach to GOES-R stationkeeping and momentum management.
GOES-R STATIONKEEPING AND MOMENTUM MANAGEMENT
29th Annual AAS Guidance and Control Conference ; 2006 ; Breckenridge, CO, United States
2006-01-01
Conference paper
No indication
English
GOES-R Stationkeeping and Momentum Management (AAS 06-046)
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2006
|Synchronous satellite stationkeeping
AIAA | 1966
|Stationkeeping at Constant Distance
AIAA | 1979
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