Spacecraft power acquisition method for wing-stowed configuration
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsH. Grant Wang, Rongsheng Li
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Abstract
A system for, and method of recovering a solar-powered spacecraft from an anomaly that renders the attitude of the spacecraft unknown includes maintaining a power-safe attitude by switching between two orthogonal axes using solar panel current sensors. The system and method may also include simultaneously determining spacecraft attitude using a star sensor. The system is applicable to spacecraft operating in a solar wing-stowed configuration.
Claims16
A method of acquiring a power-safe state for a wing-stowed spacecraft with one or more exposed solar panels in a spinning transfer orbit, the method comprising:
- a first rotation phase that includes maintaining a steady spin about a first axis that is substantially orthogonal to a direction that is normal to at least one of the exposed solar panels, sensing panel current from at least one of the exposed solar panels, and if the sensed solar panel peak current does not exceed a threshold current, stopping the first rotation at the peak current of one of the solar panels;
- entering a second rotation phase;
- the second rotation phase including maintaining a steady spin about a second axis that is substantially orthogonal to the direction that is normal to at least one of the exposed solar panels, and that is substantially orthogonal to the first axis, and sensing panel current from at least one of the exposed solar panels, and if the sensed solar panel peak current does not exceed a threshold current, stopping the second rotation at the peak current of one of the solar panels, and entering the first rotation phase.
A method of acquiring a power-safe state for a wing-stowed spacecraft in a spinning transfer orbit that has one or more exposed solar panels, the method comprising:
- entering a first rotation phase that includes maintaining a steady spin about a first axis that is substantially orthogonal to a direction that is normal to at least one of the exposed solar panels;
- acquiring spacecraft attitude using one or more star trackers;
- sensing panel current from at least one of the exposed solar panels, and if the sensed solar panel peak current does not exceed a threshold current, stopping the first rotation at the peak current of at least one of the solar panels and entering a second rotation phase, the second rotation phase including maintaining a steady spin about a second axis that is substantially orthogonal to the direction that is normal to at least one of the exposed solar panels, and that is substantially orthogonal to the first axis;
- and
- maneuvering the spacecraft to a predetermined power-safe attitude after the spacecraft attitude has been acquired.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.