The Design of the Attitude and Orbit Control System of ESA's Solar Orbiter Satellite

Solar Orbiter is an ESA satellite, due for launch in October 2018, which will capture unprecedented insight into the Sun’s heliosphere to help scientists understand more about how solar weather can affect Earth’s atmosphere and satellite communications.

Working under the leadership of Airbus Defence and Space, Tessella designed the algorithms for the Attitude and Orbit Control Subsystem (AOCS). These algorithms support for example the gravitational slingshot manoeuvres during flybys of Earth and Venus, and maintain pointing stability to support data capture from the on-board instruments. They also ensure that the sunshield protects the spacecraft from intense solar radiation at all times, especially during its closest approach to the Sun.

In this session, Colin Maule and Andrew Pollard discuss how they have used MATLAB^® and Simulink^® throughout the project to support simulation and analysis and to solve the complex challenges associated with the control system. They also discuss the techniques and workflows used to organize this large, long-running project in the presence of uncertain and variable inputs.