Abstract:
This report presents an account of the demand made by solar radiation pressure 6n the attitude-control system of an earth satellite whose external configuration is in the shape of a rectangular prism, the surfaces being assumed to be perfectly reflecting. Expressions determining the amount of angular impulse that must be supplied by an attitude-control system in the course of a year in order to provide perfect stabilisation for a space-stabilised satellite, and an earth-pointing satellite in a non-precessing orbit, are developed. Examples are given for particular cases and further examples include a comparison of the radiation-pressure torque with the torque set up by the earth's gravitational field, and the attitude deviations arising as a result of radiation pressure on an earth-pointing satellite employing gravity-gradient stabilisation alone.
