Station-Keeping Attitude Control of an Under-Actuated CubeSat in orbit around Collinear Libation Points

Abstract

The rising of the CubeSat concept is re-defning the canonical approach to space mission design. The exponential interest in the use of CubeSats for deep space missions opens up a wide range of new possibilities along with new technological challenges. The reduced spacecraft available space combined with stringent mission requirements drives the search for innovative solutions for the optimization of the resources on board. On the other hand, new horizons are opening up for CubeSat applications; Libration point missions for scienti c or support purposes seem to be the next step in the development and re nement of nano-satellite technologies. This work proposes an innovative solution where the stand-alone CubeSat main propulsion system and the ADCS actuators merge together in a 4-thruster assembly able to provide both Station-Keeping and Attitude Control for Libration Point missions.