Close Spacecraft Formation Keeping

Abstract

The University of Missouri-Rolla recently initiated a project to design and build a pair of tethered satellites. This project is designated as the MR SAT Project (Missouri-Rolla Satellite), and is composed of two spacecraft linked to each other with a ten-meter long tether. The two main mission objectives are to experiment with the use of tethers to fly satellites in formation and to establish a wireless communication network between the two satellites based on low-cost technologies. The final phase of the mission will consist of releasing the tether and then attempting to maintain the ten-meter separation by using onboard propulsion systems. This paper describes a comparison of different possible designs of the active control system used to maintain the formation. Copyright © 2004 by the American Astronautical Society.

Department(s)

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Keywords and Phrases

Active Control System; Propulsion System; Satellites; Spacecraft

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0065-3438

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2005 Univelt, Inc., All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 2005

This document is currently not available here.

Share

 
COinS