Simplified Analysis of Low-Thrust Orbital Maneuvers

Author(s):  
J. E. Pollard
2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. Domingos ◽  
A. F. B. A. Prado ◽  
V. M. Gomes

The fuel consumption required by the orbital maneuvers when correcting perturbations on the orbit of a spacecraft due to a perturbing body was estimated. The main goals are the measurement of the influence of the eccentricity of the perturbing body on the fuel consumption required by the station keeping maneuvers and the validation of the averaged methods when applied to the problem of predicting orbital maneuvers. To study the evolution of the orbits, the restricted elliptic three-body problem and the single- and double-averaged models are used. Maneuvers are made by using impulsive and low thrust maneuvers. The results indicated that the averaged models are good to make predictions for the orbital maneuvers when the spacecraft is in a high inclined orbit. The eccentricity of the perturbing body plays an important role in increasing the effects of the perturbation and the fuel consumption required for the station keeping maneuvers. It is shown that the use of more frequent maneuvers decreases the annual cost of the station keeping to correct the orbit of a spacecraft. An example of an eccentric planetary system of importance to apply the present study is the dwarf planet Haumea and its moons, one of them in an eccentric orbit.


2007 ◽  
Vol 2007 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian Martins Gomes ◽  
Antonio Fernando Bertachini de Almeida Prado ◽  
Helio Koiti Kuga

This paper considers the problem of low thrust suboptimal maneuvers to insert a satellite in a constellation. It is assumed that a satellite constellation is given with all the Keplerian elements of the satellite members having known values. Then, it is necessary to maneuver a new satellite from a parking orbit to its position in the constellation. The control available to perform this maneuver is the application of a low thrust to the satellite and the objective is to perform this maneuver with minimum fuel consumption.


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vivian M. Gomes ◽  
Antonio F. B. A. Prado

This paper considers the problem of out of plane orbital maneuvers for station keeping of satellites. The main idea is to consider that a satellite is in an orbit around the Earth and that it has its orbit is disturbed by one or more forces. Then, it is necessary to perform a small amplitude orbital correction to return the satellite to its original orbit, to keep it performing its mission. A low thrust propulsion is used to complete this task. It is important to search for solutions that minimize the fuel consumption to increase the lifetime of the satellite. To solve this problem a hybrid optimal control approach is used. The accuracy of the satisfaction of the constraints is considered, in order to try to decrease the fuel expenditure by taking advantage of this freedom. This type of problem presents numerical difficulties and it is necessary to adjust parameters, as well as details of the algorithm, to get convergence. In this versions of the algorithm that works well for planar maneuvers are usually not adequate for the out of plane orbital corrections. In order to illustrate the method, some numerical results are presented.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thais Carneiro Oliveira ◽  
Evandro Marconi Rocco ◽  
José Leonardo Ferreira ◽  
Antonio F. B. A. Prado

Most of the satellite missions require orbital maneuvers to accomplish its goals. An orbital maneuver is an operation where the orbit of a satellite is changed, usually applying a type of propulsion. The maneuvers may have several purposes, such as the transfer of a satellite to its final orbit, the interception of another spacecraft, or the adjustment of the orbit to compensate the shifts caused by external forces. In this situation it is essential to minimize the fuel consumption to allow a greater number of maneuvers to be performed, and thus the lifetime of the satellite can be extended. There are several papers and studies which aim at the fuel minimization in maneuvers performed by space vehicles. In this context, this paper has two goals: (i) to develop an algorithm capable of finding optimal trajectories with continuous thrust that can fit different types of missions and constraints at the same time and (ii) to study the performance of two propulsion devices for orbital maneuvers under development at the Universidade de Brasilia, including a study of the effects of the errors in magnitude of these new devices.


2000 ◽  
Vol 47 (2-9) ◽  
pp. 489-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Guelman ◽  
A. Kogan ◽  
A. Gipsman

1984 ◽  
Vol 75 ◽  
pp. 743-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry T. Nock

ABSTRACTA mission to rendezvous with the rings of Saturn is studied with regard to science rationale and instrumentation and engineering feasibility and design. Future detailedin situexploration of the rings of Saturn will require spacecraft systems with enormous propulsive capability. NASA is currently studying the critical technologies for just such a system, called Nuclear Electric Propulsion (NEP). Electric propulsion is the only technology which can effectively provide the required total impulse for this demanding mission. Furthermore, the power source must be nuclear because the solar energy reaching Saturn is only 1% of that at the Earth. An important aspect of this mission is the ability of the low thrust propulsion system to continuously boost the spacecraft above the ring plane as it spirals in toward Saturn, thus enabling scientific measurements of ring particles from only a few kilometers.


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