Influence of temperature restrictions on the heliocentric motion controlling of a solar-sailing spacecraft

Abstract

Abstract Solar sailing spacecraft uses the light pressure to change the trajectory and are most effective in the immediate Sun vicinity, but the sail surface temperature most significant increases in the same area. Therefore, when designing solar sailing “hot” missions, we should consider the temperature restriction when choosing the control laws. The paper proposes the following approach to the implementation of the temperature restriction. When exceeding a predetermined temperature limit values the sail deviates from the direction of the radiation flux so that the direction of the acceleration projection on the Ecliptic plane is not changed, but the total sail orientation angle increased. The additional acceleration that occurs when using this approach, directed along the Ecliptic normal, can be used to rotate the orbital plane, if this is necessary to fulfill the flight purpose or to form a cylindrical orbit.