Sub-optimal control to perform station-keeping for a satellite in a constelation

Аuthors

Prado A.

Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, Brazil

e-mail: prado@dem.inpe.br

Abstract

This paper considers the problem of orbital maneuvers that use a low thrust sub-optimal control to perform station-keeping in a satellite that is part of a constellation. The main idea is to assume that the position of a satellite that belongs to a constellation is given, as well as a nominal orbit for this satellite, not far from the initial orbit. Then, it is necessary to maneuver this satellite from its current position to the nominal specified orbit. The control available to perform this maneuver is the application of a low thrust to the satellite and the objective is to perform this maneuver with minimum fuel consumption. A sub-optimal approach will be used, to allow a simple implementation of the hardware.  

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