AAS 97-104

AUTONOMOUS CONTROL OF A RING OF SATELLITES

A. G. Y. Johnston and C. R. McInnes, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract

Large satellite constellations are of growing contemporary interest for applications such as global communications. Such constellations will require orbit control to maintain coverage patterns. As conventional control strategies may prove to be expensive, it may be advantageous to consider autonomous approaches to constellation orbit control. This paper develops a distributed control technique based on the Potential Function Method. The algorithms developed allow direct control of orbital elements and permit the exploitation of natural orbit mechanics. the application of these techniques to a simple ring of satellites is demonstrated. Implementation and future improvements to the basic method are also discussed.