Formation design of an inter-satellite link demonstration mission

The problem of secular growth of the inter-satellite induced by the J2 perturbations has been widely exploredin the literature. In this paper, we study the influence of altitude and initial mean anomaly of the chief on theinter-satellite distance growth in a classical trailing formation. Mean elements are converted into osculatingones and then in Cartesian coordinates that are propagated together in the ECI frame. Preliminary resultsshows that zonal harmonics are responsible for a steep distance drift when the formation is inserted inthe vicinity of ±45 and ±135 degrees of mean anomaly in a polar orbit. Distance-invariant solutions aredetermined in term of the mean anomaly and characterized in terms of the difference between the averagerelative distance and the initial one and of the amplitude of the osculating distance. Finally, after the inter-satellite distance has grown to an unacceptable level, the electric thruster onboard of the deputy spacecraftis leveraged in order to reset the deputy’s orbit to the distance invariant mean elements. A finite-time LinearQuadratic Regulator (FTLQR) is designed and validated within a high-fidely dynamics framework