Lunar Formation Control Using the Differential Solar Radiation Pressure

Using differential solar radiation pressure (DSRP) for formation keeping is not new. However, there is no design of a DSRP-based controller for lunar satellite formation keeping, where the C
₂₂
sectorial harmonic and third-body effects are large, other than the J
₂
zonal harmonic. This paper develops a DSRP-based controller utilizing mean orbital elements feedback for controlling satellites in a bounded region based on the astrodynamical analysis. It is shown that the most effective way to mitigates the drifts for using SRP is to adjust the semi-major axis. Numerical simulation results illustrate the new DSRP-based controller has the ability to arrest the relative distance drifts for serval years.