Dynamic and Structural Performances of a New Sailcraft Concept for Interplanetary Missions

Abstract

Typical square solar-sail design is characterised by a central hub with four-quadrant sails, conferring to the spacecraft the classical X-configuration. One of the critical aspects related to this architecture is due to the large deformations of both membrane and booms, which leads to a reduction of the performance of the sailcraft in terms of thrust efficiency. As a consequence, stiffer sail architecture would be desirable, taking into account that the rigidity of the system strongly affects the orbital dynamics. In this paper, we propose a new solar-sail architecture, which is more rigid than the classical X-configuration. Among the main pros and cons that the proposed configuration presents, this paper aims to show the general concept, investigating the performances from the perspectives of both structural response and attitude control. Membrane deformations, structural offset, and sail vibration frequencies are determined through finite element method, adopting a variable pretensioning scheme. In order to evaluate the manoeuvring performances of this new solar-sail concept, a 35-degree manoeuvre is studied using a feedforward and feedback controller.

Solar-Sail Trajectory Design for a Multiple Near-Earth-Asteroid Rendezvous Mission

“…This is particularly interesting for small body missions, as dozens of new objects are discovered on a daily basis. Due to this advantage, several studies have been carried out on the application of solar sails for interplanetary missions, from an orbital dynamics point of view as well as from a structural one [4,5].…”

Multiple near-earth asteroid rendezvous mission: Solar-sailing options

“…Furthermore, because of the propellantless nature and the potentially-unlimited v  available, a solar sail has a higher capability to perform a change of the target bodies than an electric propulsion system, even after the mission has started. Due to these advantages, several studies have been carried out on the application of the solar-sail technology for interplanetary missions, from an orbital dynamics point of view (Sullo et al, in press) as well as from a system-enginnering one (Grundmann et al, 2015, Peloni et al, 2015. The DLR/ESA Gossamer roadmap to solar sailing is one of those studies and it was divided into steps of increasing complexity (Geppert et al, 2011).…”

Finite element analysis of solar sail force model with mission application

“…11,12 An interesting and thorough discussion of the available literature about this method applied to solar sails can be found in the review paper by Fu et al. 5 Other studies about a square sail configuration, with special attention to the interaction between the sail shape and the thrust characteristics, are available in Campbell and Thomas, 13 Murphy et al., 14 Ingrassia et al., 15 Canfield et al., 16 Peloni et al., 17 Sleight and Muheim, 18 and Greschik and Mikulas. 19…”