Analysis of the single axis solar orientation of the Earth artificial satellite

The possibility of using the single axis solar orientation was analysed for the satellite with a solar sail. The analysis was carried out in the frame of the sufficiently detailed mathematical model of a stellite uncontrolled attitude motion which allowed to take into account some disturbing factors. In particular, the model gave an opportunity to study thermal deformations of the sail produced by solar heating. The orientation mode was investigated by numerical integration of the satellite attitude motion equations. There were used two types of those equations. The equations of the first type were effective from the computational point of view and contained Euler dynamical equations, which described rotation motion of a rigid body. The second type equations were so-called evolution equations, which described time evolution of the most essential parameters of the satellite attitude motion. Numerical averaging the solar pressure torque was used for calculation of right-hand sides of evaluation equations. This approach made the proposed procedure to be universal and suitable for any model of a solar sail. The analysis showed the possibility of using the single axis solar orientation was anylised for the satellite with a solar sail for long time. Earlier such a possibility was ascertained in the frame of the simpler mathematical model.