Deployment of High Power Class All-Electric Satellites in the Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit

摘要

The year 2015 marked the launch of the first all-electric satellites that used their onboard electric propulsion system to transfer to the Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit (GEO). These spacecraft belonged to the small platform class of telecommunication satellites and it is likely that in the future, larger class of telecommunication satellites will incorporate all-electric propulsion. To this end, this paper explores the deployment opportunities of high power class of satellites to the GEO, starting from an initial orbit in which it is injected into by an appropriate launch vehicle. We allow the spacecraft to use more than one thruster type during the orbit-raising maneuver. We specifically consider orbit-raising scenarios that favor the stacking of large satellites in the launch vehicles, and investigate the trade-offs among transfer time, deployed mass and radiation damage incurred during the maneuver.