Satellite Formation Establishing in Near Circular Orbit

Based on the assumption of near circular orbit, a method to establish a formation flying with multiple satellites in the same point of orbit-intry was discussed. Firstly, from Gauss＇ equations and relative motion equations, the relation of control impulse and relative motion was expressed as analysis formulas and simplified based on the near circular condition. By deeply analyzing the mechanism of impulses in each directions （radial, in-track and cross-track directions） effect on relative motion respectively, two maneuvers to establish formation flying are provided： one is to utilize the impulses in radial and cross-track directions, the other is to utilize the impulses in along-track and cross-track directions. Both of the two methods can establish satellite formation flying of any configuration. The method with impulses irradial and cross-track directions needs only 3 impulses, while the method with impulses in along-back and cross-track directions needs 4 impulses. Lastly, by an example of establishing a space-circle formation flying, two maneuvers were compared with each other in the amount of impulses and fuel consuming estimation. Simulations show that the methods are simple and practical, which could solve the establishing problem of satellite formations on near circular orbit easily.