Abdul Rachman, Astronomical Institute University of Bern; Alessandro Vananti, Astronomische Institut Universitär Bern; Thomas Schildknecht, Astronomisches Institut Universität Bern
Keywords: rotational period evolution, decommissioned glonass satellites, simulation
Abstract:
Previous studies have shown an oscillating pattern in the rotational period evolution of several decommissioned payloads in geosynchronous and medium Earth orbit. Inside the AIUB light curve database, 26 out of 70 GLONASS satellites show this pattern clearly. Most of them are GLONASS Block IIv satellites which have been considered debris for more than a decade. By inspecting a long evolution of the rotational period, a roughly annual pattern consisting of a series of peaks with triangular shape is revealed. Current study tries to understand this pattern by simulating the rotation rate of a satellite under different conditions. We have obtained preliminary results using a simple satellite model with cylinder shape for the bus and two rectangular plates as wings for the solar panels. Several simulations were run with various initial orientations of the satellites and of their rotation axis. We found that the roughly annual oscillating pattern is achievable only if both the solar panels oriented differently. This result seems true whatever the initial orientation of the satellites and of the rotation axis are. There are evidences that the periodic behavior is caused by solar radiation pressure on the solar panel of the satellites by adding or subtracting angular momentum to the system periodically. For this type of satellite geometry, the asymmetry of the solar panels somehow plays a key role in understanding this behavior.
Date of Conference: September 15-18, 2020
Track: Non-Resolved Object Characterization