Large angle pitch attitude maneuver of a satellite using solarradiation pressure

The force exerted by the solar radiation, though very small in magnitude, produces significant effects, especially in the case of high altitude satellites. The solar radiation pressure represents one freely available environmental force that may be put to use for various purposes. This may lead to enhancement of the life of the satellite since it consumes a very nominal amount of on-board energy. The advantages offered by the solar radiation pressure have drawn the attention of several researchers. Various controllers were proposed for many space missions, particularly for attitude control and stabilization of satellites. A controller for achieving large angle pitch attitude maneuver is described. The proposed control law is very simple in its form and requires a minimum number of on-board computations. Varieties of cases are tried and the effect of various parameters is studied     

Inertially fixed pitch stabilization of satellites by solar radiation pressure

Utilization of solar radiation pressure to stabilize the pitch attitude of an unsymmetrical satellite along an inertially-fixed orientation is investigated. A controller employing two rotatable highly reflective control surfaces is proposed and a control strategy involving both nominal and feedback controls is synthesized. Accounting for the apparent annual motion of the Sun, the validity of the concept throughout the year is established through a stability analysis of the system. The influence of the Earth's shadow on the controller performance is also analyzed. The speed of response as well as the pointing accuracy capabilities of the system appear to be quite acceptable for long-life scientific missions.     

On optimal aerodynamic attitude control of spacecraft

Attitude control of spin-stabilized satellites by means of aerodynamic forces is investigated. A controller employing two rotatable control surfaces is proposed to control the roll-yaw motions of the spacecraft spin-axis. Optimal control theory is applied to synthesize a feedback control law for the control surface rotations which leads to asymptotically stable controller operation. The system response is interpreted in terms of performance criteria such as the maximum control surface excursions, the speed of response and the associated orbital energy loss due to drag. Even with a moderate size, the controller appears quite effective in maintaining the spacecraft attitude against external disturbances.     

Capability of Bhaskara-II satellite microwave radiometer brightness temperature data to discriminate soil moisture conditions of Indian landmass

With the objective of developing Microwave Remote Sensing technology in the country, India has launched a series of Satellites Bhaskara-I and II with the microwave radiometer capability. In this paper, an attempt is made to demonstrate the capability of the brightness temperature data acquired by these radiometers to discriminate various soil moisture conditions of Indian land mass. The analysis show that large areas assessment of soil moisture is possible to a limited extent.     

Solar Pressure Attitude Stabilization of Earth-Pointing Spacecraft

The development of a solar pressure control system for three-axis attitude control of Earth-oriented spacecraft is presented. A controller configuration consisting of two rotatable mirrorlike surfaces, representing the minimum hardware implementation, is considered. Optimal control theory is applied to synthesize a feedback control law directly governing the differential rotation of the control surfaces. The system performance is evaluated through the response analysis of a satellite subject to destabilizing gravity gradient torques as well as external disturbances. Even under such adverse conditions, the results indicate a moderately sized controller to be quite effective in maintaining the desired Earth-pointing spacecraft orientation. The validity of the optimal control law is established for all times of the year, and the feasibility of implementing suboptimal control policies is also examined.     

Semipassive Pitch Attitude Control of Satellites by Solar Radiation Pressure

Pitch attitude control of earth-pointing satellites by solar radiation pressure is investigated. Development of a controller that is simple to implement and yet promises asymptotic stability of the system is presented. The analysis establishes the capability of the solar controller in stabilizing even the gravitationally unstable equilibrium orientation. The semipassive nature of the system promises an increased operational lifetime for the satellite.