Solar radiation pressure enabled femtosatellite based Earth remote sensing

Cao, J. and Clemente, C. and McInnes, C. R. and Soraghan, J. J. (2020) Solar radiation pressure enabled femtosatellite based Earth remote sensing. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems. ISSN 0018-9251

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    Abstract

    Recent developments in electronics have pushed miniaturised satellites to the femto-scale, with masses between 10 and 100 g. Although femtosatellites have been proven as a feasible concept, most designs are limited in mission capacity and lifetime due to the lack of environmental protection and onboard propellant. In this paper, a novel concept for femtosatellites for Earth remote sensing is proposed. In particular, a swarm of femtosatellites are used as elements of a sparse array in orbit to receive radar echoes. They also feature active orbit control enabled by solar radiation pressure to extend their lifetime. A simple active orbit control algorithm has been demonstrated. A mission concept based on a Sun-synchronous circular orbit is proposed to maximise the benefit for both Earth remote sensing and active orbit control. A synthetic aperture radar mission has been used to characterise their performance.

    Creators(s): Cao, J. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1132-8784, Clemente, C. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6665-693X, McInnes, C. R. and Soraghan, J. J. ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4418-7391;
    Item type:Article
    ID code:71292
    Notes:© 2020 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
    Keywords:femtosatellite, solar sailing, relative motion, Earth remote sensing, bi-static synthetic aperture radar, Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering, Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Aerospace Engineering
    Subjects:Technology > Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
    Department:Faculty of Engineering > Electronic and Electrical Engineering
    Faculty of Engineering > Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
    Strategic Research Themes > Ocean, Air and Space
    Strategic Research Themes > Measurement Science and Enabling Technologies
    Technology and Innovation Centre > Sensors and Asset Management
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:31 Jan 2020 09:26
    Last modified:05 Jan 2021 02:17
    Related URLs:
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/71292
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