Development of Solar Sail Spacecraft for Dynamic Maneuvering

A solar sail spacecraft capable of dynamic maneuvering can be used for de-orbiting small debris (mostly defunct satellites) and asteroids in orbit around the Earth.
Solar sails rely on large, highly reflective, lightweight material that reflects sunlight to propel a spacecraft. By tilting the solar sail canopy, a desired maneuver can theoretically be achieved, including high-rate slingshot-type maneuvers. This space system development requires in-depth theoretical analysis and experimental testing on Earth.
Theoretical simulations are based on a dynamic analysis of pendulum motion on the Earth surface and in orbit. The project includes parametric studies of solar sail motion, conceptual and detailed design of the system. The analog prototype will be designed and built for application on Earth. The off-the-shelf RC paraglider will be selected and acquired. To achieve high-rate maneuvers, the canopy tilting mechanism will be designed and implemented into the paraglider. The associated ground station possesses sufficient radio range to communicate and to control the paraglider at its maximum altitude and range. Flight experiments will be conducted at TIMPA, Tucson.