Trajectory Design for a Solar Sail Mission to Asteroid 2016 HO3

Conference paper (2018)

Authors

M.J. Heiligers Astrodynamics & Space Missions - Aerospace Engineering
Juan M. Fernandez National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA
Olive R. Stohlman National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA
W. Keats Wilkie National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA
Research Group
Astrodynamics & Space Missions (Aerospace Engineering) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2018 M.J. Heiligers, Juan M. Fernandez, Olive R. Stohlman, W. Keats Wilkie
More Info
expand_more

Published Date

2018

Language

English

Reuse Rights

Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.

Faculty

Aerospace Engineering

Department

Space Engineering

Research Group

Astrodynamics & Space Missions

Abstract

This paper proposes the use of solar-sail technology currently under development at NASA Langley Research Center for a CubeSat rendezvous mission with asteroid 2016 HO3, a quasi-satellite of Earth. Time-optimal trajectories are sought for within a 2022 – 2023 launch window, starting from an assumed launcher ejection condition in the Earth-Moon system. The optimal control problem is solved through a particular implementation of a direct pseudo-spectral method for which initial guesses are generated through a relatively simple and straightforward genetic algorithm search on the optimal launch date and sail attitude. The results show that the trajectories take 2.16 – 4.21 years to complete, depending on the assumed solar-sail reflectance model and solar-sail technology. To assess the performance of solar-sail propulsion for this mission, the trajectory is also designed assuming the use of near-term solar electric propulsion. The resulting fuel-optimal trajectories take longer to complete than the solar-sail trajectories and require a propellant consumption that exceeds the expected propellant capacity onboard the CubeSat. This comparison demonstrates the superior performance of solar-sail technology for this mission.

Files

2018_HeiligersFernandezStohlma... (pdf)
(pdf | 2.03 Mb)
- Embargo expired in 31-08-2019
Unknown license