Cubesat solar sail 3-axis stabilization using panel translation and magnetic torquing

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dc.contributor.authorSteyn W.H.
dc.contributor.authorLappas V.
dc.date.accessioned2011-10-13T16:58:34Z
dc.date.available2011-10-13T16:58:34Z
dc.date.issued2011
dc.description.abstractA Cubesat mission with a deployable solar sail of 5 meter by 5 meter in a sun-synchronous low earth orbit is analyzed to demonstrate solar sailing using active attitude stabilization of the sail panel. The sail panel is kept parallel to the orbital plane to minimize aerodynamic drag and optimize the orbit inclination change caused by the solar pressure force normal to the sail surface. A practical control system is proposed, using a combination of small 2-dimensional translation of the sail panel and 3-axis magnetic torquing which is proved to have sufficient control authority over the gravity gradient and aerodynamic disturbance torques. Miniaturized CMOS cameras are used as sun and nadir vector attitude sensors and a robust Kalman filter is used to accurately estimate the inertially referenced body rates from only the sun vector measurements. It is shown through realistic simulation tests that the proposed control system, although inactive during eclipse, will be able to stabilize the sail panel to within ±2° in all attitude angles during the sunlit part of the orbit, when solar sailing is possible. © 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
dc.description.versionArticle
dc.identifier.citationAerospace Science and Technology
dc.identifier.citation15
dc.identifier.citation6
dc.identifier.citationhttp://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?eid=2-s2.0-80052260245&partnerID=40&md5=04de65ffee24d26fa551abe80a7e95cb
dc.identifier.issn12709638
dc.identifier.other10.1016/j.ast.2010.09.009
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/16771
dc.subjectAttitude control
dc.subjectAttitude estimation
dc.subjectCubesat
dc.subjectMagnetic torquing
dc.subjectSolar sail
dc.subjectAttitude angle
dc.subjectAttitude estimation
dc.subjectAttitude sensors
dc.subjectAttitude stabilization
dc.subjectCMOS camera
dc.subjectCubesat
dc.subjectDisturbance torque
dc.subjectGravity gradients
dc.subjectLow earth orbits
dc.subjectOrbit inclination
dc.subjectOrbital planes
dc.subjectRealistic simulation
dc.subjectSail surface
dc.subjectSolar pressure forces
dc.subjectSolar sailing
dc.subjectSolar sails
dc.subjectTorquing
dc.subjectVector measurements
dc.subjectAerodynamic drag
dc.subjectAerodynamics
dc.subjectAttitude control
dc.subjectCMOS integrated circuits
dc.subjectControl systems
dc.subjectFlight control systems
dc.subjectSolar equipment
dc.subjectStabilization
dc.subjectSolar radiation
dc.titleCubesat solar sail 3-axis stabilization using panel translation and magnetic torquing
dc.typeArticle
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