Satellite de-orbiting via controlled solar radiation pressure

Abstract

The goal of the present research was to study the use of solar radiation pressure to place a satellite in an orbit that makes it to re-enter the atmosphere of the Earth. This phase of the mission is usual, since the orbital space around the Earth is crowded and all satellites have to be discarded after the end of their lifetimes. The technique proposed here is based on a device that can increase and decrease the area-to-mass ratio of the satellite when it is intended to reduce its altitude until a re-entry point is reached. Equations that predict the evolution of the eccentricity and semi-major axis of the orbit of the satellite are derived and can be used to allow the evaluation of the time required for the decay of the satellite. Numerical simulations are made, and they show the time required for the decay as a function of the area-to-mass ratio and the evolution of the most important orbital elements. The results show maps that indicate regions of fast decays as a function of the area-to-mass ratio and the initial inclination of the orbit of the satellite. They also confirmed the applicability of the equations derived here. The numerical results showed the role played by the evection and the Sun-synchronous resonances in the de-orbiting time.