Cross-Scale Mission Analysis
- Paper number
IAC-08.C1.6.12
- Author
Mr. Johannes Schoenmaekers, European Space Agency (ESA), Germany
- Coauthor
Dr. Arnaud Boutonnet, European Space Agency (ESA), Germany
- Year
2008
- Abstract
In the frame of the Cosmic Vision 2015-2025 programme of the European Space Agency new missions are analysed for feasibility and preparation of the industrial study phase. One of the pre-selected missions of the programme is Cross-Scale, which aims at investigating the earth magnetosphere at different scales simultaneously. The primary objective it the investigation of the magnetotail between 10 and 30 Earth radii. The mission consists of up to 12 S/C in a highly eccentric near equatorial earth orbit. Near apogee, the S/C form 3 nested tetrahedra of different scales ranging from 10 km to 15000 km. The S/C will be launched on a common dispenser from Kourou by Soyuz-Fregat in a sub-GTO orbit. After a sequence of perigee burns to raise the apogee to 25 Earth radii and an apogee burn to raise the perigee to 10 Earth radii, the S/C are released from the dispenser and perform the constellation deployment. During the 5 year (3 + 2 extension) operational period the constellation will be reconfigured one or twice per year. The perigee radius of 10 earth radii avoids end of life manoeuvres to keep the S/C out of the GEO ring. The paper addresses the selection of the operational orbit, the design of the launch and transfer, the design and evolution of the constellation and the deployment and reconfiguration of the constellation. The selection of the operational orbit is driven by the tail coverage requirement, the transfer Delta-V, the coverage of the magnetopause and the bowshock as well as radiation, eclipses, ground station visibility, stability and GEO ring debris mitigation. The launch apogee has been selected by a global launch + transfer optimisation to maximise the S/C mass in the operational orbit. As an option, the transfer can be done in 3 months using 4 weak moon encounters to raise the perigee, which would reduce the transfer Delta-V by at least 225 m/, depending on the magnetotail crossing seasons. The constellation is based on the 2 tetrahedra strategy already successfully used for Cluster. One tetrahedron is placed 10 deg before and the other 10 deg after apogee. The relative orientations are selected to guarantee a reasonable 3-dimentional configuration over a long orbital arc around apogee. The constellation deployment and reconfiguration uses a fuel optimum up to 4 burn per S/C strategy.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-08.C1.6.12.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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