In this paper the translational equations of motion of a formation of n spacecraft in Earth orbit, n(sub f) of which are drag-free spacecraft, are derived in a coordinate-free manner using the balance of linear momentum and direct tensor notation. A drag-free spacecraft consists of a spacecraft bus and a proof mass shielded from external disturbances in an internal cavity. By controlling the spacecraft so that the proof mass remains centered in the cavity, the spacecraft follows a purely gravitational orbit. The results described in this paper provide a first step toward coupling drag-free control technology with formation flying in order to mitigate the effect of differential aerodynamic drag on formation flying missions (e.g., Earth imaging applications) in low Earth orbit.


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    Title :

    Dynamics of Drag Free Formations in Earth Orbit


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    SPIE 4th International Asia-Pacific Environmental Remote Sensing Symposium ; 2004 ; Honolulu, HI, United States


    Publication date :

    2004-11-08


    Type of media :

    Preprint


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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