Abstract
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is now planning the next-generation infrared astronomical mission - the Space Infrared Telescope for Cosmology and Astrophysics (SPICA). SPICA is the first Japanese libration point mission that utilizes a halo orbit around L2 in the Sun-Earth system. This paper describes a study conducted on the stationkeeping strategy for that libration point mission. The main algorithm is structured with reference to a paper written by K. C. Howell et al. [1993]. In that paper, the attitude constraints of SPICA and frequent disturbances caused by unloading operation of the reaction wheels are considered in applying the stationkeeping algorithm to SPICA. Throughout the analysis, the amount of corrective delta-V for stationkeeping was revealed as being heavily influenced by thruster allocation when considering the strict attitude constraints of SPICA. The total delta-V for one year of stationkeeping varies from 0.1 to 7.6 m/s, depending on onboard thruster allocation. Based on the analysis results, this paper suggests an optimal thruster allocation for SPICA-like missions.
