I‐3d

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I‐3d

Formations of Small Satellites

Schilling, Klaus

Multisatellite systems are mainly organized as constellations (such as GPS, Iridium, OneWeb, A‐train), where each satellite is individually controlled from ground stations. Improved performance is expected from formations, where the satellites self‐organize on basis of direct information exchange and distributed control approaches. This chapter elaborates the theoretical and technology background for small satellite formations with some related examples. Low earth orbits‐satellites benefit from the shorter distance to the Earth's surface, in particular, from shorter signal propagation periods and lower power needs for data transmission and instrumentation. Dimensioning the number of satellites and selection of orbits is based on: temporal and spatial coverage requirements and minimization of the number of necessary satellites by selecting appropriate orbit constellations. Formation flying technologies for nanosatellites were prepared by the technology demonstration missions CanX‐4 and CanX‐5.