Reflectivity Control Devices for Continuous Momentum Management of Reaction Wheels

This paper presents a concept for deep-space momentum management based on reflectivity control devices. These devices are placed in the far corners of the solar panels and exploit solar radiation pressure by changing their reflectively properties from specular reflection to absorption. A specialized control algorithm is developed according to an optimization problem that minimizes the difference between the feasible control and an ideal one, continuously dumping momentum from the reaction wheels while undertaking the mission. The ideal control fuses a classical quaternion tracking control law with a desaturation control law specially designed for the on–off actuation of these devices. Two case studies are considered: 1) a geostationary satellite on a geostationary orbit, and 2) a 12U CubeSat in a quasi-halo moon orbit, which demonstrate the usefulness of the concept and effectiveness of the control law.