Simulation of the ADCS subsystem for a VLEO satellite
The current trend of the space industry regarding Earth Observation (EO) and Telecommunications satellites is to keep lowering the orbit to increase the resolution of the images, to have a better Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), or to have a lower latency in communications, among others things. Very Low...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis de maestría |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2023 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) |
| Repositorio: | UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC |
| Idioma: | inglés |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/403752 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2117/403752 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Artificial satellites in telecommunication Electric propulsion Flight control Flight simulators ADCS VLEO ABEP Simulation Attitude control Reaction wheels Satèl·lits artificials en telecomunicació Propulsió elèctrica Sistemes de control (Vol) Simuladors de vol Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Enginyeria de la telecomunicació::Radiocomunicació i exploració electromagnètica::Satèl·lits i ràdioenllaços |
| Sumario: | The current trend of the space industry regarding Earth Observation (EO) and Telecommunications satellites is to keep lowering the orbit to increase the resolution of the images, to have a better Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR), or to have a lower latency in communications, among others things. Very Low Earth Orbits (VLEO) also offers the possibility to use the increased atmospheric density at low altitudes for novel purposes like aerodynamics-based attitude control. However, flying a satellite in VLEO is a technological challenge because atmospheric density is much higher in VLEO. To maintain a long-term mission, huge amounts of propellant would be needed if current propulsion systems were to be used. A possible solution to extend the lifetime of such missions is Atmosphere-Breathing Electric Propulsion (ABEP) that collects atmospheric particles (e.g. atomic oxygen) by an intake and feeds an electric thruster which ionizes and accelerates them to generate thrust. That is what Kreios Space is working on. They are developing an innovative all-electric propulsion system that would not need to carry propellant. On the context of the Kreios Space mission, this project aims to develop a satellite simulator for the Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem (ADCS) for this new satellite prototype. The simulator is developed in MATLAB Simulink. It is a very simple first approach of the subsystem. It aims to develop the bases of the subsystem to then, add new functionalities and make it more accurate as the satellite is developed. The simulator will basically contain the main components in any controlled system, which are: a reference, a controller, the actuators, and the model of the system, which includes the dynamics of the satellite. Additionally, a 3D visualisation block to see the satellite dynamics has been added. Once the simulator is developed, three different studies are carried out. The first one is related with VLEO disturbances. It demonstrates that other disturbances than Earth’s oblatness and drag can be neglected for short simulation periods. The second study aims to tune the controllers, which are three PIDs (one for each axis), in the nadir pointing point. Results of this study show that the error in Z is already in the order of 10−6 degrees, without control on the axis itself. Lastly, the third study has been derived from the results of study 2 and it performs a specific pointing manoeuvre in Z axis to tune the Z controller. |
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