AbstractOne fundamental way in which satellite formation flight differs from conventional orbital proximity operations is that extended mission durations are required. Consequently, long‐term perturbation effects, and in particular, those due to the oblateness of the Earth, must be corrected for if the formation is to persist. This paper considers a novel non‐propulsive means for countering the differential orbital plane precession that is the major formation perturbation produced by oblateness. The approach taken is to make use of the solar radiation pressure acting on a relatively small surface, termed a solar wing, that is fixed to the satellite. The resulting torque causes the orbit to precess; if the wing is sized correctly, this motion will cancel, on average, with that due to oblateness, so maintaining the formation without use of propellant. It will be shown that the long‐term orbital effects of the solar wing control input (the wing orientation angle) are highly nonlinear, and exhibit strong coupling between the orbital inclination and the longitude of the ascending node. Finally, numerical results are given to illustrate the approach. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.