Study on Deorbit of a Microsatellite Considering the Solar Activity Effect on Atmospheric Density

Abstract

The effect of aerodynamic drag on loss of the velocity of a microsatellite on LEO is investigated and compared with the on-orbit data of two microsatellites, Hodoyoshi-1 of the University of Tokyo and QSAT-EOS of Kyushu University, which were launched in 2014. A new model, which includes the influence of the solar activities on atmospheric density, is introduced in this paper. The results obtained from the model suggest that the effect of solar activity on the atmospheric density has to be considered with the deviation of F10.7 parameter due to the number of sunspots. The model is applied to a microsatellite composed of a cubic main body and a deorbit sail to estimate its altitude change due to aerodynamic drag. The rotation of the satellite is taken into consideration.