Abstract This paper proposes a novel technique to perform propellant-free chaser–target spacecraft relative maneuvers while simultaneously stabilizing the chaser’s attitude with respect to the local vertical local horizontal coordinate system centered at its body center of mass. The control forces required for relative maneuvers at low Earth orbits can be generated by varying the relative aerodynamic drag via maneuverable sails placed in the back-end of the spacecraft. At the same time, aerodynamic torques resulting from the displacement of the centers of pressure of the sails can stabilize the orientation of the spacecraft. In this work, the target vehicle is assumed to maneuver an identical sail in a cooperative fashion and will be centered and attitude-stabilized in its local vertical local horizontal coordinate system. The proposed approach is based on the idea of virtual thrusters, emulating the sail’s center of pressure offset in the controller. Several test cases are presented for various existing spacecraft, demonstrating successful propellant-less roto-translational control of the chaser spacecraft.

Differential-drag-based roto-translational control for propellant-less spacecraft / Pastorelli, Mirko; Bevilacqua, Riccardo; Pastorelli, STEFANO PAOLO. - In: ACTA ASTRONAUTICA. - ISSN 0094-5765. - 114:(2015), pp. 6-21. [10.1016/j.actaastro.2015.04.014]

Differential-drag-based roto-translational control for propellant-less spacecraft

PASTORELLI, STEFANO PAOLO
2015

Abstract

Abstract This paper proposes a novel technique to perform propellant-free chaser–target spacecraft relative maneuvers while simultaneously stabilizing the chaser’s attitude with respect to the local vertical local horizontal coordinate system centered at its body center of mass. The control forces required for relative maneuvers at low Earth orbits can be generated by varying the relative aerodynamic drag via maneuverable sails placed in the back-end of the spacecraft. At the same time, aerodynamic torques resulting from the displacement of the centers of pressure of the sails can stabilize the orientation of the spacecraft. In this work, the target vehicle is assumed to maneuver an identical sail in a cooperative fashion and will be centered and attitude-stabilized in its local vertical local horizontal coordinate system. The proposed approach is based on the idea of virtual thrusters, emulating the sail’s center of pressure offset in the controller. Several test cases are presented for various existing spacecraft, demonstrating successful propellant-less roto-translational control of the chaser spacecraft.
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Differential-drag-based roto-translational control for propellant-less spacecraft _ Elsevier Enhanced Reader.pdf

non disponibili

Tipologia: 2a Post-print versione editoriale / Version of Record
Licenza: Non Pubblico - Accesso privato/ristretto
Dimensione 8.34 MB
Formato Adobe PDF
8.34 MB Adobe PDF   Visualizza/Apri   Richiedi una copia
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11583/2621788
 Attenzione

Attenzione! I dati visualizzati non sono stati sottoposti a validazione da parte dell'ateneo