Method of adjusting the position of satellites by means of solar pressure torques

A method for adjusting an orientation of a satellite moving on an orbit around the earth, the orbit having an orbiting plane, and for compensating interfering torques via solar pressure torques for the satellite, said satellite having two solar generators (104, 105), having active surfaces, arranged symmetrically on opposite sides of a main body of said satellite, said two solar generators being rotatable independently of one another via servomotors about a first axis (109, 110) of rotation coinciding with a pitch axis (Y.sub.F) of a satellite-fixed system of axes (X.sub.F, Y.sub.F, Z.sub.F) which pitch axis is orthogonal to the orbiting plane of the satellite for a nominal orientation of the satellite, the method comprising the steps of:

• nominally orienting (.alpha..sub.0, .beta..sub.0) the solar generators by rotation about at least one of said first axis of rotation (.alpha..sub.0) and a second axes of rotation such that normals (X.sub.PN, X.sub.PS) to their active surfaces align precisely in a direction of a sun;
• adjusting the solar generators via a targeted rotation (.epsilon..sub.N, .epsilon..sub.S, .gamma..sub.N, .gamma..sub.S) about either said second axes (301, 302) of rotation .beta..sub.0, or said first and second axes of rotation, so as to selectively generate solar pressure torques (T.sub.0X, T.sub.0Y, T.sub.Z) about at least one of three space axes (X.sub.0, Y.sub.0, Z.sub.0) oriented orthogonally with respect to one another forming a coordinate system in which the first space axis (X.sub.0) is in a plane of incidence of the sunlight.