ESA GNC Conference Papers Repository

The Atmospheric Dynamics Mission ADM-Aeolus, part of the ESA Living Planet programme, is intended to measure wind profiles over the entire Earth, including areas too remote for ground stations. The primary goal is to provide vertical profiles of wind field for the improvement of atmospheric analyses, serving both climate research and numerical weather prediction. The mission will fill many of the data gaps of wind profiles in the present Global Observing System (GOS) and according to some estimates may have an impact on forecast quality comparable to that of radiosondes. This paper presents an overview of the AOCS design before focusing on one of the most challenging aspects of the Normal Mode design – the operational state in which Aeolus will spend the vast majority of its lifetime. The problem in question, management of wheel momentum, is multi-faceted with many sources of uncertainty, highly restrictive design conditions and large degree of cross-coupling between the free-variables. Aeolus is being developed by Astrium Ltd (spacecraft and AOCS prime) with launch scheduled for May 2010.