Stable attitude dynamics of planar helio-stable and drag-stable sails

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the planar attitude dynamics of solar and drag sails with pyramidal shapes, focusing on stability properties under various disturbances for potential spacecraft deorbiting applications.

Contribution

It introduces a simplified model for helio and drag stable sails and studies their attitude stability considering environmental disturbances.

Findings

Stable attitude conditions identified for different sail configurations.

Effects of sail aperture and center of mass-pressure offset analyzed.

Insights into sail design for controlled deorbiting provided.

Abstract

In this paper the planar orbit and attitude dynamics of an uncontrolled spacecraft is studied, taking on-board a deorbiting device. Solar and drag sails with the same shape are considered and separately studied. In both cases, these devices are assumed to have a simplified pyramidal shape that endows the spacecraft with helio and drag stable properties. The translational dynamics is assumed to be planar and hence the rotational dynamics occurs only around one of the principal axes of the spacecraft. Stable or slowly-varying attitudes are studied, subject to disturbances due to the Earth oblateness effect and gravity gradient torques, and either solar radiation pressure or atmospheric drag torque and acceleration. The results are analysed with respect to the aperture of the sail and the center of mass - center of pressure offset.