Electric Thrusters Configuration Strategy Study on Station-Keeping and Momentum Dumping of GEO Satellite

More and more GEO Satellites adopts electric thrusters to execute station-keeping and momentum dumping. Profiting from the high specific impulse of electric propulsion, there is substantially decrease in fuel consumption and improvement in payload capacity. Quantity and configuration of electric thrusters have a large influence in station-keeping efficiency and momentum dumping capacity. Considering the necessary of system backup, the station-keeping and momentum dumping must be performed correctly while at least one thruster breaks down. In this paper, a method of station-keeping and momentum dumping capacity analysis is introduced, from which the minimum configuration of electric thrusters is induced. In addition, the minimum configuration of electric thrusters for GEO satellite station-keeping and momentum dumping with backup is discussed. At last, the relationship between thrusters' installation parameters and capacity of station-keeping and momentum dumping is analyzed. In view of the above, the designing method of electric thrusters' installation parameters is obtained.