Orbit transformation scheme for satellite formation reconfiguration

The atmosphere drag dissipation is the major factor that affects the life-span of low orbit spacecraft. Using a backup satellite, which runs on a high orbit, may increase the life-span of the entire formation system. The orbit transfer strategy for the backup satellite maneuvering to the vicinity of the chief is one of the vital issues for satellite formation reconfiguration. In the work, a Hohmann transformation and active phase modulation orbit transformation scheme is designed to transfer the in-plane backup satellite to the target orbit, hence to accomplish the formation reconfiguration mission. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, and also illustrate that the Hohmann method is fuel optimal but consumes much more time. While, the active phase modulation method though reduces the orbit maneuvering time, it consumes more fuel. This conclusion will be helpful to the future long life-span formation design and formation reconfiguration issue.