Autonomous and Robust Attitude and Orbit Control System of Very Low Earth Orbit Satellites... Tender

Procurement Summary

Country : Netherlands

Summary : Autonomous and Robust Attitude and Orbit Control System of Very Low Earth Orbit Satellites (Artes 4.0 at 4c.067)

Deadline : 21 Dec 2023

Other Information

Notice Type : Tender

TOT Ref.No.: 90382567

Document Ref. No. : 1-11661

Financier : Other Funding Agencies

Purchaser Ownership : Public

Tender Value : Refer Document

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Tender Details

Tenders are invited for Autonomous and Robust Attitude and Orbit Control System of Very Low Earth Orbit Satellites (Artes 4.0 at 4c.067).

The objective of the activity is to design, develop and evaluate an Attitude and Orbit Control Subsystem (AOCS) and software to enable autonomous control and operation of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) satellites, which is robust to the uncertain and variable environment. Targeted Improvements: Enabling autonomous orbit control of satellites in VLEO, where the use of specific spacecraft control techniques is required to cope with the uncertain and variable atmospheric drag and other dynamic perturbations.Description: Satellites in VLEO can be attractive for telecommunications applications because of an improved link budget, a reduced radiation environment and lower latency. The large numbers of VLEO constellation satellites and the uncertain and fast-varying atmosphere demand an autonomous and robust AOCS. The specific environment of VLEO is characterised by strong atmospheric effects, which cannot simply be regarded as disturbances of the flight regime, as typically done in LEO platforms, but rather call for the direct inclusion of these effects in the dynamics. This is achieved by accurate modelling and simulation, trade-off of measurement/estimation solutions for environment characterisation and the use of specific control techniques (adaptive control), which have been successfully employed in launchers and re-entry vehicles but need to be tailored to the needs of VLEO missions. Based on the existing knowledge of adaptive control techniques, this activity will develop an AOCS software that will de-risk the development of the control systems that will enable VLEO flight. Perspective missions and mission profiles requiring VLEO platforms will be assessed. A Functional Engineering Simulator (FES) will be developed to accurately model and simulate the atmospheric effects that are relevant to the design of the on-board control algorithms. Effects of using air breathing propulsion will also be considered. Detailed control algorithms relying on adaptive control techniques will be designed. The AOCS algorithms applicable to VLEO platforms will be developed into a prototype AOCS software and validated using the Functional Engineering Simulator.

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