Analysis of residual gas disturbance on the inner satellite of Inner Formation Flying System

Abstract

The Inner Formation Flying System (IFFS) consisting of an outer satellite and an inner satellite which is a sphere proof mass freely flying in the shield cavity can construct a pure gravity orbit to precisely detect the earth gravity field. The residual gas in the cavity is a significant disturbance source due to the temperature in-homogeneity and relative motion of the inner satellite. The expressions of the disturbance forces were derived based on the property of rarefied gas, including the radiometer effect and the damping force. According to the current design of IFFS, heat transfer analysis of the cavity and the inner satellite was carried out, and the surface temperature distribution of the cavity and the inner satellite was given. The relative motion of the inner satellite was obtained from the formation control simulation of IFFS. Then the residual gas disturbance was calculated. The disturbance acceleration acting on the inner satellite due to the radiometer effect was on the order of 10−11 m s−2 and the damping acceleration was on the order of 10−15 m s−2.