Tracking the Effective Surface Area of Non-Convex Satellites

Abstract: This paper presents a novel framework to track the effective surface area of non-convex satellites, enabling the use of aerodynamic drag in low Earth orbit for orbital control. The proposed framework enables the satellite to track the effective surface area while simultaneously performing other maneuvers. We introduce this framework through a backstepping control algorithm, and exemplify its advantages with an extension, to simultaneously maximize solar panel exposure. The equilibria of the closed-loop systems are shown to be asymptotically stable, and simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed framework.