An Optimal Orbit Control Strategy for the Archimedes Mission

Abstract

In the context of the ESA Archimedes program, 5 and 6 satellite constellations at multiregional 8 hours HEO orbits are being investigated in detail to provide telecommunication services on multiregional basis to zones located in the northern hemisphere. This paper presents an optimal orbit control strategy for those constellations. After a detailed analysis of orbit disturbances and long term evolution of the multiregional HEO 8-hour orbit, the requirements of station keeping strategy are defined by choosing a set of 22 cities in 3 different service zones (Europe, North America and Far East) where a minimum value of satellite elevation must be kept along the whole mission lifetime. The presented station keeping method provides 10 years of constellation lifetime with a very low cost in term of ΔV (about 13.5 m/s) and it requires only perigee manoeuvres (eccentricity control is not needed to keep the required minimum elevation over the selected cities). This strategy requires the individual optimisation of the initial perigee height, inclination and right ascension of the ascending node for each satellite of the Archimedes constellation.