利用大气阻力的低能耗高连续低轨星座构型保持方法

A Low Energy Consumption High Continuity Maintenance Method of Low Earth Orbit Constellation Using Atmosphere Drag

摘要:

针对传统低轨星座构型维持中频繁机动导致的寿命缩减以及性能下降问题，提出了一种利用大气阻力的低轨星座相对构型自主保持方法。首先通过理论分析明确了大气阻力和卫星轨道相位之间的关系，而后在卫星能源、姿态指向等约束下，设计了通过旋转帆板改变卫星迎风面积的星座构型自主保持方法，并实现了算法的仿真验证。仿真结果表明，通过改变帆板迎风面积，可使卫星相对相位偏差量控制在0.1 °以内，相对半长轴差控制在40 m以内，卫星一年内无需进行主动相位控制，整星寿命期间燃耗节省至少13.284 kg。该方法能有效降低卫星燃料消耗，增加卫星整体服务连续性。

Abstract:

To address the decline of lifespan and overall performance caused by frequent maneuver in traditional constellation maintenance， this paper proposes an autonomous relative structure maintenance method using atmosphere drag. First， it clarifies the relationship between atmosphere drag and orbital phase of low earth orbit(LEO) satellite by theoretical analysis. Next， considering the constraint of satellite power and attitude control， It designs a method by rotating solar panel to change effective frontal area of the satellite so as to achieve autonomous structure maintenance of LEO constellation. Finally， it conducts a simulation and validates that by changing frontal area of solar panel， the relative phase deviation of two satellites is maintained within 0.1 degree. The relative semi-axis deviation is controlled within 40 meters. Active station-keeping control is not needed in one year， and this method saves at least 13.284 kg of fuel consumption in entire lifespan of satellite. Therefore， the continuity of satellite services is ensured and lifetime of satellite is prolonged.