Lorentz-force-perturbed orbits with application to J2-invariant formation

The Lorentz force acting on an electrostatically charged spacecraft in the Earth's magnetic field provides a new propellantless means for controlling a spacecraft's orbit. Assuming that the Lorentz force is much smaller than the gravitational force, the perturbation of a charged spacecraft's orbit by the Lorentz force in the Earth's magnetic field, which is simplified as a titled rotating dipole, is studied in this article. Our research starts with the derivation of the equations of motion in geocentric equatorial inertial Cartesian coordinates using Lagrange mechanics, and then derives the Gauss variational equations involving Lorentz-force perturbation using a set of nodal inertial coordinates as an intermediate step. Subsequently, the approximate averaged changes in classical orbital elements, including single-orbit-averaged and one-day-averaged changes, are obtained by employing orbital averaging. We have found that the approximate analytic one-day-averaged changes in semi-major axis, eccentricity, and inclination are nearly zero, and those in the other three angular orbital elements are affected by J2 and Lorentz-force perturbations. This characteristic is applied to model bounded relative orbital motion in the presence of the Lorentz force, which is termed Lorentz-augmented J2-invariant formation. The necessary condition for J2-invariant formation is derived when the chief spacecraft's reference orbit is either circular or elliptical. It is shown that J2-invariant formation is easier to implement if the deputy spacecraft is capable of establishing electric charge. All conclusions drawn from the approximate analytic solutions are verified by numerical simulation.

► We modeled the orbital perturbation resulting from the Lorentz force for a charged spacecraft.
► We derived the analytic necessary conditions for Lorentz-augmented J2-invariant formation.
► J2-invariant formation is feasible in the presence of Lorentz-force perturbation.
► J2-invariant formation is easier to implement if the spacecraft is capable of establishing charge.