Phase space analysis and validation of resonant dynamics of rotating plate-like spacecraft

In this paper, we carry out a detailed stability and phase space analysis of the nonlinear dynamics of a plate-like spacecraft in low Earth orbit. The craft is undergoing a constant-rate rotational motion about the normal of the ecliptic plane. As per our previous work, the coupling between this rotational motion, solar radiation pressure and the second zonal harmonic of Earth’s geopotential produces a resonance and it is this resonant dynamics that are analyzed here. The goal of our analysis is to identify the influence of the spacecraft rotation rate on the phase portrait of the resonant dynamics. The results of the analysis provide the basis for designing an end-of-life strategy for the spacecraft which exploits the aforementioned resonance phenomenon. To this end, a high-fidelity orbit-attitude propagator is employed to compute the orbital motion of the spacecraft for certain rotational rates, thus validating the phase space analysis and the feasibility of the proposed deorbitation strategy.