Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
10694297 | Advances in Space Research | 2014 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
Passive attitude stability criteria of a solar sail whose membrane surface is axisymmetric are studied in this paper under a general SRP model. This paper proves that arbitrary attitude equilibrium position can be designed through adjusting the deviation between the pressure center and the mass center of the sail. The linearized method is applied to inspect analytically the stability of the equilibrium point from two different points of views. The results show that the attitude stability depends on the membrane surface shape and area. The results of simulation with full dynamic equations confirm that the two stability criteria are effective in judging the attitude stability for axisymmetric solar sail. Several possible applications of the study are also mentioned.
Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering
Earth and Planetary Sciences
Space and Planetary Science
Authors
Xiaosai Hu, Shengping Gong, Junfeng Li,