Propellantless formation flight applications using electromagnetic satellite formations

Lorentz force time-optimal transfer trajectory design in Jovian magnetic field

“…Furthermore, there are several ways to charge the spacecraft. One is the ion-and electron-beam (Lai, 1989) which can use particle beams to charge the spacecraft, and others like the coulomb satellite formations (Kwon, 2010;Schaub et al, 2003). Our study concentrates on the charge control without considering the generation of charge.…”

Analysis of the relative dynamics of a charged spacecraft moving under the influence of a magnetic field

“…Using artificial magnetic fields, Kong [22] introduced the idea of Electro Magnetic Formation Flight (EMFF), which uses the intersection between the electromagnetic fields of several satellites to control the configuration of the formation; Umair [44] designed a control strategy for electromagnetic satellite formations in near-Earth orbits; Kwon [23] explored the applicability of EMFF for attitude and translation control of close proximity formation flying, and…”

“…where r = r = x 2 + y 2 + z 2 is the leader -follower distance,r = (x,ŷ,ẑ) T = r/r, and B 0 is the magnetic dipole moment, with units: Wb • m (see [23]), which for a coil is defined by…”

“…where µ 0 = 4π × 10 −7 N/A 2 is the vacuum permeability, n c the number of loops in the coil, i c the current flown intensity, and r c the radius of the coil (see [23]).…”

Fast trajectory tracking of electromagnetic satellite formation with actuator saturation

“…1 The absence of thruster plumes also eliminates a series of malignant effects. The pioneering researches on EMFF were primarily conducted by the MIT Space Systems Lab and the University of Tokyo, 2–9 whose studies focused on dynamics, magnetic dipole determination, control, and hardware technology associated with experimental results.…”