Solar radiation pressure enabled femtosatellite based Earth remote sensing

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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 (https://doi.org/10.1109/TAES.2020.2972242)

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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.

ORCID iDs

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;
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