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CEAS EuroGNC 2026

Design of Autonomous and Robust Attitude and Orbit Control System for Very Low Earth Orbit
Pamela Woo Software Developer - Guidance, Navigation and Control, NGC Aerospace Ltd., Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Marie-Kiki Langelier Software Developer - Guidance, Navigation and Control, NGC Aerospace Ltd., Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Coralie Pelletier-Ouellet Software Developer - Guidance, Navigation and Control, NGC Aerospace Ltd., Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Ludwik A. Sobiesiak Project Manager, NGC Aerospace Ltd., Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Jean-François Hamel Vice-President, Space Systems, NGC Aerospace Ltd., Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
Abstract:
Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) is a region of orbital altitudes below 400 km. Satellite operations in these low altitudes offer many advantages for Earth observation and telecommunications applications. The VLEO region is characterised by strong atmospheric effects, presenting a challenge for Attitude and Orbit Control System (AOCS) design, which must cope with a dominant perturbation that is difficult to model and predict on-board with a high degree of accuracy. This paper presents an autonomous and robust AOCS design suitable for satellite operation in the lower VLEO region, below 200 km. First, a baseline mission concept is defined. Then, novel AOCS functionalities are described, such as the modulation of aerodynamic torques as the primary means of active spacecraft attitude control, and the use of air-breathing electric propulsion for orbit maintenance. Simulation results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed AOCS design for VLEO operation.
Keywords: Attitude and Orbit Control System; Very Low Earth Orbit
 View PDF CEAS-GNC-2026-031 doi: 10.82124/CEAS-GNC-2026-031


Pamela Woo, Marie-Kiki Langelier, Coralie Pelletier-Ouellet, Ludwik A. Sobiesiak, Jean-François Hamel: Design of Autonomous and Robust Attitude and Orbit Control System for Very Low Earth Orbit. Proceedings of the 2026 CEAS EuroGNC conference. Madrid, Spain. May 2026. doi: 10.82124/CEAS-GNC-2026-031.
BibTeX entry (UTF-8):

@Incollection{CEAS-GNC-2026-031,
    author = {Woo, Pamela and Langelier, Marie-Kiki and Pelletier-Ouellet, Coralie and Sobiesiak, Ludwik A. and Hamel, Jean-François},
    title = {Design of Autonomous and Robust Attitude and Orbit Control System for Very Low Earth Orbit},
    booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2026 {CEAS EuroGNC} conference},
    address = {Madrid, Spain},
    month = may,
    year = {2026},
    doi = {10.82124/CEAS-GNC-2026-031}
}