The influence of satellite flexibility on orbital motion

The orbital perturbations induced by the librational motion and flexural oscillations are studied for satellites having large flexible appendages. Using a Lagrangian procedure, the equations for coupled motion are derived for a satellite having an arbitrary number of appendages in the nominal orbital plane and two flexible members normal to it. The formulation enables one to study the influence of flexibility on both the orbital and attitude motions. The orbital coordinates are expanded as perturbation series in =(l/a ₀)²,l anda ₀ being a characteristic length of the satellite and unperturbed semi-major axis of the orbit, respectively. The first order perturbation equations are solved in terms of elastic deformations and librational angles using the WKBJ method in conjunction with the variation of parameter technique. Existence of secular perturbations is noted for certain librational flexural motions. Three specific examples, Alouette II, Radio Astronomy Explorer and Tethered Orbiting Interferometer, are considered subsequently and their possible secular drifts estimated.List of Symbols A _ij, B_ij coefficients in the eigenfunction expansion ofv _i andw _i respectively, Equation (10) - C _k, D_k constants, Equation (21) - EI _i flexural rigidity of theith appendage - E(u₀) ²(1+e ₀ cosu ₀)² h ₀ ³ - F(u₀) perturbation function, Equation (17b) - F ,F ,F functions of librational angles and flexural displacements, Equation (11i) - F ,F ,F F ,F ,F with change of independent variable fromt tou ₀ - I _xx, I_yy, I_zz principal moments of inertia of the undeformed satellite - J ⁱ] inertia dyadic of the deformedith appendage - J _d] inertia dyadic of the deformed satellite - M mass of the satellite - P _R, P_u functions of librational angles and flexural displacements, Equation (15d) and (15e), respectively - R _c magnitude ofR _c - R _c0, R₁ unperturbed value and first order perturbation ofR _c, respectively - R _c ,R ₀ position vectors of the c.m. of the deformed and undeformed satellite, respectively - T kinetic energy of the satellite - U potential energy of the satellite - U _e, U_g elastic and gravitational potential energy, respectively - X, Y, Z orbital co-ordinate axes, located at the c.m. of the deformed satellite - Y ₁(u₀), Y₂(u₀) functions ofu ₀, Equation (18b) and (18c), respectively - a semi-major axis - a ₀ unperturbed value ofa - e eccentricity - e ₀ unperturbed value ofe - h ₀ unperturbed angular momentum per unit mass of the satellite - i inclination of the orbital plane to the ecliptic - i, j, k unit vectors alongx (or ),y (or ) andz (or ) axes, respectively - l characteristic length of the satellite - l _i length of theith appendage - l ⁱ] matrix of direction cosines ofx _i, v_i andw _i - l ,l ,l direction cosines ofR _c - m ₀, m_i mass of the main body andith appendage, respectively - p _i ² - q _m, Q_m generalized co-ordinate and force, respectively - r ₁ R ₁/R_c0 - r position vector of an element of the body referred toxyz axes - r _u position vector of an element after deformation, referred to axes - r _c x _c i+y _c j+z _c k, position vector of the c.m. of the deformed body referred toxyz axes - s x _i/l_i - t time - u true anomaly - u ₀, u₁ unperturbed value and the first order perturbation ofu, respectively - u elastic displacement vector - u _c u–r _c - velocity of an element relative to axes - v _i, w_i flexural deformations - x, y, z body co-ordinate axes with origin at the c.m. of the undeformed satellite - x _i distance of an element of theith appendage from the root - _j jth eigenfunction (normalized) of a cantilever - angle between the line of nodes and vernal equinox - , , components of nondimensionalized angular velocity of the satellite - , , pitch (spin), yaw and roll, respectively - _i nominal inclination of theith appendage in the orbital plane - - small parameter, (l/a ₀)² - _j jth eigenvalue of a cantilever - gravitational constant - _jk constant, Equation (11j) - , , body co-ordinate axes with origin at the c.m. of the deformed satellite - ( i + j + k), angular velocity of the satellite