大椭圆轨道航天器四面体编队运动分析与设计

Analysis and Optimization Design of Tetrahedron Formation Spacecrafts in Highly Elliptic Orbits

若干正处于计划或实施中的空间物理测量任务较多采用运行于大椭圆轨道上的四面体航天器编队协同完成任务轨道段内地球磁层结构和动力学现象的分布式测量与分析。采用基于轨道根数的相对运动模型,分析了参考轨道根数对四面体性能指标——质量因子和平均边长的影响;假设某一航天器运行于参考轨道,提出了以其他三个航天器的15个相对轨道根数为设计变量,目标函数兼顾质量因子和平均边长的四面体优化设计方案,并将其应用于第一阶段MMS任务的四面体构形设计中。仿真结果表明,在不考虑摄动和控制的前提下,通过优化可以得到任务轨道段内四面体性能保持较优的轨道设计方案。

Several space physics missions that are being designed or flown need spacecrafts flying in a tetrahedron configuration about a highly elliptical reference orbit. At least four spacecrafts can separate space and time, and measure the structural and dynamic parameters of space environment along the mission arc. Based on the orbit element modal of relative motion, an analysis was performed to study the influence of four reference orbit elements on the tetrahedron＇ s quality factor and average side length. On the assumption that one spacecraft runs along the reference orbit, a tetrahedron formation optimization design model was proposed, whose design variables are fifteen relative orbit elements of the other three spacecrafts wtfile objective function involves the tetrahedron＇ s quality factor and mean side length. Then, this model is applied in phase I of Magnetosperic MultiScale mission. The results show that a tetrahedron formation with better performance in the mission arc can be found through optimization method while no control is exerted.