高阶带谐摄动下卫星相对运动精确动力学模型

在考虑J 2 项摄动的卫星相对运动精确动力学模型基础上,推导了可以精确到任意阶带谐非球形引力摄动的卫星相对运动精确动力学模型,还给出了一组简洁的基于参考卫星轨道要素（Reference Satellite Variables）的微分方程,能够描述精确到任意阶带谐非球形引力的卫星地球轨道运动。由于在模型推导过程中没有引入任何简化,新推导的结果适用于任意偏心率的地球轨道。     

Solar sail formation flying on an inclined Earth orbit

The versatility of solar sail propulsion can be utilized in the exploration of Earth’s magnetotail. An inclined periodic orbit with respect to ecliptic is possible for a solar sail with its orbital plane in synchronous rotation with the sun. Solar sail evolving on such an inclined orbit is free of Earth shadow. Formation flying of a cluster of sails around such an inclined periodic orbit is investigated in this paper. The solution of the first-order approximation to the linear relative motion is used to qualitatively analyze the configurations of relative orbits. Since the relative motion is unstable, active control is necessary to keep a periodic relative motion. A typical LQR method is employed to stabilize the relative motion. The design method is validated by numerical examples.     

太阳帆绕地球周期轨道研究

  地球同步和太阳同步卫星在各个领域有着广泛的应用。静止轨道是一种特殊的地球同步轨道,轨道资源有限。利用化学推进或电推进可以实现轨道高度不同的同步轨道,如悬挂轨道,但需要消耗较多的燃料,工程上无法承受。本文考虑利用太阳帆实现地球同步和太阳同步轨道。太阳光压力在轨道平面内沿拱线方向,选择光压力与平面的夹角使得轨道平面的旋转速率与太阳光同步。研究表明,设计合适的半长轴和偏心率可以使得轨道旋转速率与地球自转速率一致。假设太阳光与赤道平面平行,可以得到准静止轨道,太阳帆将在传统静止轨道的附近运动,星下点的经度将在一个固定值附近振动。实际上太阳光是与黄道面平行,黄道面与赤道面之间存在夹角。考虑黄赤交角的情况下,太阳帆将在一定纬度和经度范围内运动。适合于对某个区域进行长期观测任务。     

Two-craft tether formation relative equilibria about circular orbits and libration points

The relative equilibria of a two spacecraft tether formation connected by line-of-sight elastic forces moving in the context of a restricted two-body system and a circularly restricted three-body system are investigated. For a two spacecraft formation moving in a central gravitational field, a common assumption is that the center of the circular orbit is located at the primary mass and the center of mass of the formation orbits around the primary in a great-circle orbit. The relative equilibrium is called great-circle if the center of mass of the formation moves on the plane with the center of the gravitational field residing on it; otherwise, it is called a nongreat-circle orbit. Previous research shows that nongreat-circle equilibria in low Earth orbits exhibit a deflection of about a degree from the great-circle equilibria when spacecraft with unequal masses are separated by 350 km. This paper studies these equilibria (radial, along-track and orbit-normal in circular Earth orbit and Earth–Moon Libration points) for a range of inter-craft distances and semi-major axes of the formation center of mass. In the context of a two-spacecraft Coulomb formation with separation distances on the order of dozens of meters, this paper shows that the equilibria deflections are negligible (less than 10^?6°) even for very heterogeneous mass distributions. Furthermore, the nongreat-circle equilibria conditions for a two spacecraft tether structure at the Lagrangian libration points are developed.     

Optimization of space orbits design for Earth orbiting missions

In Earth orbiting space missions, the orbit selection dictates the mission parameters like the ground resolution, the area coverage, and the frequency of coverage parameters. To achieve desired mission parameters, usually Earth regions of interest are identified and the spacecraft is maneuvered continuously to visit only these regions. This method is expensive, it requires a propulsion system onboard the spacecraft, working throughout the mission lifetime. It also requires a longer time to cover all the regions of interest, due to the very weak thrust forces compared to that of the Earth's gravitational field. This paper presents a methodology to design natural orbits, in which the regions of interest are visited without the use of propulsion systems, depending only on the gravitational forces. The problem is formulated as an optimization problem. A genetic algorithm along with a second order gradient method is implemented for optimization. The design process takes into consideration the gravitational second zonal harmonic, and hence allows for the design of repeated Sun-synchronous orbits. The field of view of the payload is also taken into consideration in the optimization process. Numerical results are presented that demonstrates the efficiency of the proposed method.     

Mission design and analysis of European astrophysics missions orbiting libration points

The main characteristics of the trajectory design of space observatory missions in the Earth–Sun libration point region is highlighted, based on experiences gained in work performed by the authors on ESA missions. Free transfers always lead to large-amplitude orbits around L₂, their properties (amplitudes, phases, non-linear behaviour) are related to the conditions at perigee. Launch scenarios with different degrees of freedom in the perigee geometry and different strategies of sharing the apogee raising between launcher and spacecraft propulsion for Soyuz (with circular parking orbit or direct injection) and Ariane 5 launches from French Guiana will be discussed. Besides the orbit selection and transfer analysis, an important aspect of libration missions is the maintenance of the operational orbit. For some missions it is required to maximise the time between maintenance manoeuvres, and for some the thrust authority is limited. In both cases the exponential nature of the state transition matrix has to be considered. If the equivalent velocity error in the unstable direction becomes too large, the orbit can become unrecoverable, leading to a departure from the environment of the Lagrange point within a few months.     

长期在轨运行卫星的轨道维持技术

本文研究近地轨道卫星长期在轨运行的轨道维持问题。轨道维持的任务是将卫星的星下点轨迹保持在设计的参考轨迹附近。近地轨道卫星所受的摄动力包括地球引力摄动、日月摄动、大气阻力摄动和光压摄动等,而影响卫星轨道星下点漂移的主要因素是大气阻力摄动。本文给出了一种新的卫星轨道维持策略,数学仿真表明了其有效性。     

高精度重力场下回归轨道半解析优化设计

为解决太阳同步回归轨道的标称设计问题,提出一种基于高精度重力场的半解析优化方法。建立地球非球形引力摄动阶数为J15 的高精度重力场解析模型,并分离出引力摄动的长期项和长周期项。构建回归轨道从半长轴到平交点周期的对应关系,平交点周期变化随引力摄动阶数的提高而逐渐收敛。通过微分修正迭代算法所确定的半长轴相对于传统J2摄动模型的半长轴确定值具有更高的精度和更好的稳定性。考察摄动短周期项影响下的密切交点周期,结果表明其受初始位置(平近点角)影响较大,变化范围为0.015s,并由此给出精确回归轨道优化设计的基准：不同的初始位置上满足星下点轨迹严格回归的半长轴期望值。     

On the features of long-term evolution of a high-apogee orbit of the SPECTR-R spacecraft

The practical tasks related to qualitative investigation of long-term evolution of high-apogee orbits of artificial Earth satellites (AES), for which the main perturbing factors are gravitational perturbations from the Moon and the Sun, are considered. Attention is given to the problem of the ballistic lifetime of similar orbits, and the issues associated with possibilities of the correction of orbits for ensuring the required duration of their ballistic lifetime are considered. The orbit of the SPECTR-R spacecraft launched in July of 2011 is considered as an example.     

A vector method for synthesis of orbits and the structure of satellite constellations for multiswath periodic coverage of the Earth

Single satellites and multisatellite constellations for the periodic coverage of the Earth are considered. The main feature is the use of several cameras with different swath widths. A vector method is proposed which makes it possible to find orbits minimizing the periodicities of coverage of a given area of Earth uniformly for all swaths. Their number is not limited, but the relative dimensions should satisfy the Fibonacci series or some new numerical sequences. The results apply to constellations of any number of satellites. Formulas were derived for calculating their structure, i.e., relative position in the constellation. Examples of orbits and the structure of constellations for the Earth’s multiswath coverage are presented.     

Inter-orbital low-thrust transfers in an arbitrary field of forces

Low-thrust transfers between preset orbits are considered in the presence of perturbations of different origin. A simple method of finding the transfer trajectory is suggested, based on linearization of motion near reference orbits. The required accuracy of calculations is achieved by way of increasing the number of reference orbits. The method can also be used in the case of a large number of revolutions around the attracting center: no averaging of motion is required in this case. The suggested method is applicable as well, when the final orbit is specified partially and when there are constraints on the thrust direction. The optimal solution to the linearized problem is not optimal for the original problem; closeness of solutions to these two problems is estimated using a numerical example. Capabilities of the method are also illustrated by examples.     

Calculation and Study of Limited Orbits around the <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Subscript>2</Subscript> Libration Point of the Sun–Earth System

A procedure has been proposed for calculating limited orbits around the L₂ libration points of the Sun–Earth system. The motion of a spacecraft in the vicinity of the libration point has been considered a superposition of three components, i.e., decreasing (stable), increasing (unstable), and limited. The proposed procedure makes it possible to correct the state vector of the spacecraft so as to neutralize the unstable component of the motion. Using this procedure, the calculation of orbits around various types of libration points has been carried out and the dependence on the orbit type on the initial conditions has been studied.     

Novel orbits of Mercury,Venus and Mars enabled using low-thrust propulsion

Exploration of the inner planets of the Solar System is vital to significantly enhance the understanding of the formulation of the Earth and other planets. This paper therefore considers the development of novel orbits of Mars, Mercury and Venus to enhance the opportunities for remote sensing of these planets. Continuous acceleration is used to extend the critical inclination of highly elliptical orbits at each planet and is shown to require modest thrust magnitudes. This paper also presents the extension of existing sun-synchronous orbits around Mars. However, unlike Earth and Mars, natural sun-synchronous orbits do not exist at Mercury or Venus. This research therefore also uses continuous acceleration to enable circular and elliptical sun-synchronous orbits, by ensuring that the orbit's nodal precession rate matches the planets mean orbital rate around the Sun, such that the lighting along the ground-track remains approximately constant over the mission duration. This property is useful both in terms of spacecraft design, due to the constant thermal conditions, and for comparison of images. Considerably high thrust levels are however required to enable these orbits, which are prohibitively high for orbits with inclinations around 90°. These orbits therefore require some development in electric propulsion systems before becoming feasible.     

Revisiting the general periodic relative motion in elliptic reference orbits

A general periodicity condition is presented by analyzing the relative motion between two spacecraft performing formation flight in Keplerian elliptic orbits. The Tschauner–Hempel equation is used to describe the relative motion, and the general periodicity condition is derived through a state transition matrix with a true anomaly as a free variable. The general periodicity condition is also derived by using the energy matching condition, and the resulting periodic conditions by two approaches are compared to each other. Moreover, the zero offset condition is presented to locate the leader spacecraft at the center of the formation geometry. Then, the periodic relative motion in the elliptic reference orbit is expressed using the periodicity condition and the zero offset condition. Numerical simulations demonstrate the periodic relative motion in the elliptic reference orbit, and the results show that the general periodicity condition guarantees the bounded periodic relative motion in arbitrary elliptic orbits, and the zero offset condition makes the formation center coincide with the leader spacecraft.     

三角平动点附近高阶解在轨道位置保持中的应用

首先给出三角平动点附近的高阶解析解,并计算了三种特殊的运动类型。以日–地+月系三角平动点附近无长周期运动分量的拟周期轨道作为目标轨道,探讨轨道保持问题。针对三角平动点任务的轨道保持问题,我们研究了两种轨道保持策略,分别为多点打靶轨道保持与重构目标轨道的策略。计算中,将轨道控制问题转化为非线性规划问题,并以优化方法求解。仿真表明优化方法在轨道保持问题求解方面非常有效。     

State propagation in an uncertain asteroid gravity field

Various spacecraft have been and will be sent to asteroids to characterize them. Generally, an asteroid's gravity field is very irregular and not accurately known when compared to the gravity field of a major planet, Earth in particular. It has been well studied that the irregularity significantly affects the trajectory of an orbiting spacecraft, and causes it to impact or to escape from the asteroid. Complementary to that, this paper focuses on the influence of the limited knowledge of this gravity field on the evolution of the spacecraft's orbit. It develops a general method by which this influence can be quantified. This method comprises specific Monte Carlo simulations with a discrete set of low-altitude orbits, taking into account the uncertainties in the gravity-field parameters. For illustration purposes, it is applied to two different asteroids. Already after three revolutions, the gravity-field uncertainties propagate to significant position uncertainties; this specifically holds for prograde orbits, and around the smaller asteroid. Applying this robust and accurate method helps mission designers and planners to assess the risk posed by gravity uncertainties, and take appropriate measures such as choosing the most favorable orbital geometries and/or lowering the orbit more slowly.     

Observations in the thermal IR and visible of a retired satellite in the graveyard orbit,and comparisons to active satellites in GEO

There exists a population of defunct satellites in the geo-stationary arc that potentially pose a hazard to current and future operational satellites. These drifting, non-station-kept objects have a variety of ages and sizes, and many are trapped in libration orbits around the Earth?s two gravitational potential wells (the non-spherical nature of the Earth gives rise to two geo-potential wells or “stable points” that affect objects in geostationary and geosynchronous orbits), whereas others were boosted to higher altitudes into so-called “graveyard” orbits.     

Nonlinear relative position control of precise formation flying using polynomial eigenstructure assignment

A nonlinear relative position control algorithm is designed for spacecraft precise formation flying. Taking into account the effect of J₂ gravitational perturbations and atmospheric drag, the relative motion dynamic equation of the formation flying is developed in a quasi-linear parameter-varying (QLPV) form without approximation. Base on this QLPV model, polynomial eigenstructure assignment (PEA) is applied to design the controller. The resulting PEA controller is a function of system state and parameters, and produces a closed-loop system with invariant performance over a wide range of conditions. Numerical simulation results show that the performance can fulfill precise formation flying requirements.     

Investigation of Periods of Evolution for Elliptical Orbits in the Double-Averaged Hill Problem

The geometric analysis applied to the solutions obtained by M.L. Lidov [1] of the satellite version of a restricted circular double-averaged three-body problem allowed us fresh view at the comparative analysis of evolution periods for various elliptical orbits. Based on the similarity theory, the parameters of similitude are invoked for orbits and perturbations. An expression for the period of evolution of three orbit elements through the appropriate similitude parameters is derived. On this basis, a regularity is formulated, the consequences of which are analyzed.