Impact of Deployable Solar Panels on Gravity Field Recovery in GRACE-like Satellites: a Closed-Loop Simulation Study

Future satellite gravimetry missions must meet increasing scientific demands, requiring advanced technologies, e.g., novel inertial sensors, laser ranging systems and potentially electric thrusters to operate in a drag-free regime. Deployable solar panels offer a promising solution by providing sufficient power even under unfavorable illumination conditions, without significantly increasing satellite dimensions or mass. This study evaluates the impact of single and double deployable solar panels on gravity field recovery (GFR) through closed-loop simulations. Five GRACE-like satellite configurations were analyzed, each with distinct finite element models and inertia properties. Detailed orbit simulations included non-spherical static gravity field and impacting non-gravitational force models. Satellites drag coefficients varied from 2.25 to 4.5, depending on configuration. GFR was assessed using degree RMS of spherical harmonic coefficient differences between the recovered and reference fields. GFR results show that discrepancies between the modified and standard configurations are mainly driven by variations of the actuation noise of the modeled optical accelerometer - simplified gravitational reference sensor (SGRS). SGRS performance, in turn, depends on the satellite’s cross-sectional area. Moreover, the convergence of residuals in the spectral domain for simulated orbits with different drag coefficients confirmed the dominant role of SGRS performance in the retrieved gravity field.