On the Solution to the Problem of Guiding an Illumination-Providing Satellite Towards the Specified Earth‘s Surface Region, and Estimation of Illumination Intensity

The article considers a spacecraft featuring a large solar sail, intended for illuminating subpolar regions of the Earth's surface during a polar night with sunlight reflected from the mirror-like surface of the sail. In order to perform this, when the craft reaches the orbital segment located above the horizon of the region to be illuminated, the sail is aligned so that it reflects the sunlight towards the region. If necessary, seve-ral craft of this type are able to ensure continuous illumination of the specified region. We analysed the angular velocities and sail alignment angles required to ensure continuous illumination of the target and suggested an algorithm for computing these parameters. Additionally, we estimated the illumination intensity and the number of craft required. To verify the algorithm developed, we performed simulations for two cases: when the Sun is at a 40° angle to the orbital plane, and when the orbital plane is perpendicular to the direction towards the Sun

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