Artificial frozen orbit control scheme based on J_2 perturbation

Since the inclination of frozen orbit with non-rotation of the perigee that occurs due to J2 perturbation must be equal to the critical inclination, this regulation has restricted the application of frozen orbit a lot. In this paper, we propose two control strategies to eliminate the secular growth of the argument of the perigee for orbits that are not at the critical inclination. One control strategy is using transverse continuous low-thrust, and the other is using both the transverse and the radial continuous low-thrusts. Fuel optimization in the second control strategy is addressed to make sure that the fuel consumption is the minimum. Both strategies have no effect on other orbital parameters’ secular motion. It is proved that the strategy with transverse control could save more energy than the one with radial control. Simulations show that the second control strategy could save 54.6% and 86% of energy, respectively, compared with the two methods presented in the references.