Monte Carlo Simulations of the Formation Flying Dynamics for the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission

Abstract

The MMS mission is an ambitious space physics mission that will fly 4 spacecraft in a tetrahedron formation in a series of highly elliptical orbits in order to study magnetic reconnection in the Earth's magnetosphere. The mission design is comprised of a combination of deterministic orbit adjust and random maintenance maneuvers distributed over the 2.5 year mission life. Formal verification of the requirements is achieved by analysis through the use of the End-to-End (ETE) code, which is a modular simulation of the maneuver operations over the entire mission duration. Error models for navigation accuracy (knowledge) and maneuver execution (control) are incorporated to realistically simulate the possible maneuver scenarios that might be realized These error models, coupled with the complex formation flying physics, lead to non-trivial effects that must be taken into account by the ETE automation. Using the ETE code, the MMS Flight Dynamics team was able to demonstrate that the current mission design satisfies the mission requirements