Abstract
Recent works demonstrated that the dynamics caused by the planetary oblateness coupled with the solar radiation pressure can be described through a model based on singly averaged equations of motion. The coupled perturbations affect the evolution of the eccentricity, inclination and orientation of the orbit with respect to the Sun–Earth line. Resonant interactions lead to non-trivial orbital evolution that can be exploited in mission design. Moreover, the dynamics in the vicinity of each resonance can be analytically described by a resonant model that provides the location of the central and hyperbolic invariant manifolds which drive the phase space evolution. The classical tools of the dynamical systems theory can be applied to perform a preliminary mission analysis for practical applications. On this basis, in this work we provide a detailed derivation of the resonant dynamics, also in non-singular variables, and discuss its properties, by studying the main bifurcation phenomena associated with each resonance. Last, the analytical model will provide a simple analytical expression to obtain the area-to-mass ratio required for a satellite to deorbit from a given altitude in a feasible timescale.
Highlights
The effect of the solar radiation pressure (SRP) on Earth satellites was recognised since the first space flights
The dynamics arising by combining each of the harmonics with the secular evolution due to J2 can be reduced to a 1 degrees of freedom (DoF) resonant model (Krivov and Getino 1997; Lücking et al 2012; Alessi et al 2018a)
The paper is organised in the following way: in Sect. 2 the basic force model is recovered in its singly averaged formulation, in Sect. 3 we discuss the analytical description in the vicinity of SRP resonances, in Sect. 4 we provide a phase space analysis based on the main bifurcations associated with each resonance, in Sect. 5 we demonstrate the use of the models to analytically obtain feasible deorbiting configurations, and in Sect. 6 we present our conclusions
Summary
The effect of the solar radiation pressure (SRP) on Earth satellites was recognised since the first space flights. The derivation of the six different resonant models in the three-dimensional case and their effect on the long-term evolution of resident space objects has been recently discussed in the literature (Alessi et al 2018a, 2019). We exploit the information of the analytical model in Alessi et al (2019) to obtain further insight in the resonant structures. We employ the equations for computing the equilibria for each resonance and compute the number and their stability for each set of the dynamical parameters of the system This allows us to construct bifurcations diagrams which give the main transitions in the phase space. 5 we demonstrate the use of the models to analytically obtain feasible deorbiting configurations, and in Sect. The paper is organised in the following way: in Sect. 2 the basic force model is recovered in its singly averaged formulation, in Sect. 3 we discuss the analytical description in the vicinity of SRP resonances, in Sect. 4 we provide a phase space analysis based on the main bifurcations associated with each resonance, in Sect. 5 we demonstrate the use of the models to analytically obtain feasible deorbiting configurations, and in Sect. 6 we present our conclusions
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
