Conceptual design studies of an electrically propelled upper stage for deployment of a multi-plane orbital constellation of small spacecraft

Abstract

The paper presents results of conceptual design studies to determine configuration of an electrically propelled upper stage (EPUS) – a space transportation stage (a space tug) with main engines based on electric propulsion powered by solar arrays. It addresses the problem of deploying a multi-plane orbital constellation of small spacecraft (SSC) using an electrically propelled upper stage. It proposes to change the SSC operational orbital planes based on the effect of the difference in precession rates between the parking and the working orbits owing to the effect of eccentricity in the Earth gravitational field. Requirements have been defined for the EPUS electrical propulsion system that take into account the need to operate it to offset the aerodynamic drag while waiting in the parking orbit for the SSC operational orbital plane to turn. It demonstrates the feasibility of employing four EPUS that use Stationary Plasma Thruster-type electric propulsion as their main engines and gallium arsenide solar arrays for deployment in a 600 km orbit in four planes an orbital constellation of 24 small spacecraft with a mass of ~250 kg each using one launch of a medium capacity launch vehicle of Soyuz-2.1b type. Key words: Electrically propelled upper stage, electric propulsion, small spacecraft, orbital constellation.