Drag and Attitude Control for the Next Generation Gravity Mission
The Next Generation Gravity Mission (NGGM), currently in a feasibility study phase as a candidate Mission of Opportunity for ESA-NASA cooperation in the frame of the Mass Change and Geo-Sciences International Constellation (MAGIC), is designed to monitor mass transport in the Earth system by its var...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/12/2916 |
| _version_ | 1827656901841649664 |
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| author | Stefano Cesare Sabrina Dionisio Massimiliano Saponara David Bravo-Berguño Luca Massotti João Teixeira da Encarnação Bruno Christophe |
| author_facet | Stefano Cesare Sabrina Dionisio Massimiliano Saponara David Bravo-Berguño Luca Massotti João Teixeira da Encarnação Bruno Christophe |
| author_sort | Stefano Cesare |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Next Generation Gravity Mission (NGGM), currently in a feasibility study phase as a candidate Mission of Opportunity for ESA-NASA cooperation in the frame of the Mass Change and Geo-Sciences International Constellation (MAGIC), is designed to monitor mass transport in the Earth system by its variable gravity signature with increased spatial and temporal resolution. The NGGM will be composed by a constellation of two pairs of satellites, each providing the measurement of two quantities from which the map of Earth’s gravity field will be obtained: the variation of the distance between two satellites of each pair, measured by a laser interferometer with nanometer precision; and the relative non-gravitational acceleration between the centers of mass of each satellite pair, measured by ultra-sensitive accelerometers. This article highlights the importance of the second “observable” in the reconstruction of the lower harmonics of Earth’s gravity field, by highlighting the tight control requirements in linear and angular accelerations and angular rates, and the expectable performances from the drag-free, attitude, and orbit control system (DFAOCS) obtained through an end-to-end (E2E) simulator. The errors resulting from different mission scenarios with varying levels of drag-free control and pointing accuracy are then presented, demonstrating that a high-performance accelerometer alone is not sufficient to achieve the measurement quality necessary to achieve the mission objectives, if the spacecraft does not provide to this sensor a suitable drag-free environment and a precise and stable pointing. The consequences of these different mission scenarios on the gravity field retrieval accuracy, especially for the lower spherical harmonic degrees, are computed in order to quantitatively justify the rationale for these capabilities on the NGGM spacecraft. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:35:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-77b2e9dc38f84952afc9376cc37e3941 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:35:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-77b2e9dc38f84952afc9376cc37e39412023-11-23T18:48:54ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922022-06-011412291610.3390/rs14122916Drag and Attitude Control for the Next Generation Gravity MissionStefano Cesare0Sabrina Dionisio1Massimiliano Saponara2David Bravo-Berguño3Luca Massotti4João Teixeira da Encarnação5Bruno Christophe6Thales Alenia Space Italia S.p.A., 10146 Turin, ItalyThales Alenia Space Italia S.p.A., 10146 Turin, ItalyThales Alenia Space Italia S.p.A., 10146 Turin, ItalyThales Alenia Space Italia S.p.A., 10146 Turin, ItalyEuropean Space Agency, 2200 AG Noordwijk, The NetherlandsAerospace Faculty, Delft University of Technology, Klyverweg 1, 2629 HS Delft, The NetherlandsDPHY, ONERA, Université Paris Saclay, F-92322 Châtillon, FranceThe Next Generation Gravity Mission (NGGM), currently in a feasibility study phase as a candidate Mission of Opportunity for ESA-NASA cooperation in the frame of the Mass Change and Geo-Sciences International Constellation (MAGIC), is designed to monitor mass transport in the Earth system by its variable gravity signature with increased spatial and temporal resolution. The NGGM will be composed by a constellation of two pairs of satellites, each providing the measurement of two quantities from which the map of Earth’s gravity field will be obtained: the variation of the distance between two satellites of each pair, measured by a laser interferometer with nanometer precision; and the relative non-gravitational acceleration between the centers of mass of each satellite pair, measured by ultra-sensitive accelerometers. This article highlights the importance of the second “observable” in the reconstruction of the lower harmonics of Earth’s gravity field, by highlighting the tight control requirements in linear and angular accelerations and angular rates, and the expectable performances from the drag-free, attitude, and orbit control system (DFAOCS) obtained through an end-to-end (E2E) simulator. The errors resulting from different mission scenarios with varying levels of drag-free control and pointing accuracy are then presented, demonstrating that a high-performance accelerometer alone is not sufficient to achieve the measurement quality necessary to achieve the mission objectives, if the spacecraft does not provide to this sensor a suitable drag-free environment and a precise and stable pointing. The consequences of these different mission scenarios on the gravity field retrieval accuracy, especially for the lower spherical harmonic degrees, are computed in order to quantitatively justify the rationale for these capabilities on the NGGM spacecraft.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/12/2916gravity field recoverysatellite-to-satellite trackingnon-gravitational acceleration measurementdrag-free control |
| spellingShingle | Stefano Cesare Sabrina Dionisio Massimiliano Saponara David Bravo-Berguño Luca Massotti João Teixeira da Encarnação Bruno Christophe Drag and Attitude Control for the Next Generation Gravity Mission Remote Sensing gravity field recovery satellite-to-satellite tracking non-gravitational acceleration measurement drag-free control |
| title | Drag and Attitude Control for the Next Generation Gravity Mission |
| title_full | Drag and Attitude Control for the Next Generation Gravity Mission |
| title_fullStr | Drag and Attitude Control for the Next Generation Gravity Mission |
| title_full_unstemmed | Drag and Attitude Control for the Next Generation Gravity Mission |
| title_short | Drag and Attitude Control for the Next Generation Gravity Mission |
| title_sort | drag and attitude control for the next generation gravity mission |
| topic | gravity field recovery satellite-to-satellite tracking non-gravitational acceleration measurement drag-free control |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/14/12/2916 |
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