Abstract
Under the umbrella of the Clean Space Initiative, ESA has promoted activities in the area of Active Debris Removal (ADR). One of the main challenges driving the complexity of the rendezvous and capture of debris is its tumbling motion. It is highly desirable that kinetic energy dissipation devices damp the angular rates of debris in advance. Unfortunately, Eddy currents in conductive structures only provide a very slow detumbling. A potentially faster solution proposed by ESA (patent pending Ref EP19182205) consists in short-circuiting the satellite Magnetic Torquers already on board LEO satellites. The tumbling motion of the satellite within the Earth magnetic field results in the induction of currents in the Magnetic Torquers coils, dissipating energy by Joule heating. With a spin rate around 1 rpm, the Gravity Gradient torques create a slow precession of the satellite angular momentum around the orbit normal while the magnetic torques generated by a potential satellite residual dipole command a perpendicular precession around the North Pole. In parallel, the short-circuited Magnetic Torquers create damping and tilting magnetic torques. The spin axis re-orientation and the reduction of the angular rates are analytically predicted. A reduced set of driving parameters (debris inertias, altitude, spin axis orientation, and Magnetic Torquers characteristics) are identified that estimate the detumbling durations. ESA aims to further study and implement this concept with industry during the procurement phase of the new Copernicus Expansion Sentinels kicked off in autumn 2020, with first launches in 2025. The increased definition of the six satellites will permit to consider the positive contribution of Eddy currents in the metallic structures as well as the detrimental impact of the Solar Radiation pressure on tumbling Solar Arrays.
Published Version
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