Enhanced compound steering law for general low thrust mission
US-8930048-B1 · Jan 6, 2015 · US
Method and device for electric satellite propulsion
US9650159B2 · US · B2
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Publication number | US-9650159-B2 |
| Application number | US-201414913975-A |
| Country | US |
| Kind code | B2 |
| Filing date | Aug 29, 2014 |
| Priority date | Aug 30, 2013 |
| Publication date | May 16, 2017 |
| Grant date | May 16, 2017 |
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- Title
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Abstract
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An electric propulsion device for a satellite equipped with at least four active thrusters exerting a parallel thrust upon a transfer, the device comprises means for detecting a thruster failure and means for reorienting the thrusters, and comprises means for computing a reorientation angle of the thrusters remaining active upon a failure of a thruster, the value of the angle being computed to reorient at least two of the remaining thrusters in order to cancel the total torque about the center of mass of the satellite.
First claim
Opening claim text (preview).
The invention claimed is: 1. A propulsion device for a satellite equipped with at least four active thrusters used in parallel, exerting a parallel thrust upon a transfer, the device comprising means for detecting a thruster failure and means for reorienting the thrusters, the device further comprising means for computing a reorientation angle of the thrusters remaining active upon a failure of a thruster, said reorientation angle being computed to reorient at least two of the remaining active thrusters according to a same computed reorientation angle in order to cancel the total torque about the center of mass of the satellite, wherein two active thrusters are reoriented according to the computed reorientation angle. 2. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the thrusters are associated with mechanisms formed toward an anti-earth face of the satellite. 3. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein all the active thrusters are reoriented according to the same computed reorientation angle. 4. The device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the thrusters are electric thrusters. 5. The device as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the thrusters are Hall-effect thrusters. 6. The device as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the thrusters are gated ion motors. 7. A satellite comprising a propulsion device for said satellite equipped with at least four active thrusters used in parallel, exerting a parallel thrust upon a transfer, the device comprising means for detecting a thruster failure and means for reorienting the thrusters, the device further comprising means for computing a reorientation angle of the thrusters remaining active upon a failure of a thruster, said reorientation angle being computed to reorient at least two of the remaining active thrusters according to a same computed reorientation angle in order to cancel the total torque about the center of mass of the satellite, wherein two active thrusters are reoriented according to the computed reorientation angle. 8. A method for reorienting the thrusters of an electric propulsion device for a satellite equipped with at least four active thrusters exerting a parallel thrust upon a transfer, the method comprising the steps of: detecting a failure of one of the thrusters, computing a reorientation angle of the thrusters remaining active, a value of said reorientation angle being computed in order to cancel the total torque about the center of mass of the satellite; and reorienting, by the value of said reorientation angle, at least two of the thrusters remaining active, wherein two active thrusters are reoriented according to the computed reorientation angle.
Assignees
Inventors
Classifications
- B64G1/413Primary
Ion or plasma engines · CPC title
Transfer orbits · CPC title
Arrangements or adaptations of propulsion systems · CPC title
Electrostatic ion thrusters · CPC title
Operations & Transport · mapped topic
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Frequently asked questions
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- What does patent US9650159B2 cover?
- An electric propulsion device for a satellite equipped with at least four active thrusters exerting a parallel thrust upon a transfer, the device comprises means for detecting a thruster failure and means for reorienting the thrusters, and comprises means for computing a reorientation angle of the thrusters remaining active upon a failure of a thruster, the value of the angle being computed to …
- Who is the assignee on this patent?
- Thales Sa
- What technology area does this patent fall under?
- Primary CPC classification B64G1/413. Mapped technology areas include Operations & Transport.
- When was this patent published?
- Publication date Tue May 16 2017 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) (B2). Legal status and post-grant events are not shown on this page.
- What related patents are in patentsdb?
- We list 1 related publication on this page (citations in our corpus or others sharing the same primary CPC).