Study on relative orbital configuration in satellite formation flying

The relative orbital configurations of satellites in formation flying with non-perturbation and J₂ perturbation are studied, and an orbital elements method is proposed to obtain the relative orbital configurations of satellites in formation. Firstly, under the condition of non-perturbation, we obtain many shapes of relative orbital configurations when the semi-major axes of satellites are equal. These shapes can be lines, ellipses or distorted closed curves. Secondly, on the basis of the analysis of J₂ effect on relative orbital configurations, we find that J₂ effect can induce two kinds of changes of relative orbital configurations. They are distortion and drifting respectively. In addition, when J₂ perturbation is concerned, we also find that the semi-major axes of the leading and following satellites should not be the same exactly in order to decrease the J₂ effect. The relationship of relative orbital elements and J₂ effect is obtained through simulations. Finally, the minimum relation perturbation conditions are established in order to reduce the influence of the J₂ effect. The results show that the minimum relation perturbation conditions can reduce the J₂ effect significantly when the orbital element differences are small enough, and they can become rules for the design of satellite formation flying.