Combined low-thrust propulsion and invariant manifold trajectories to capture NEOs in the Sun–Earth circular restricted three-body problem

Mingotti, G. and Sánchez, J. P. and McInnes, C. R. (2014) Combined low-thrust propulsion and invariant manifold trajectories to capture NEOs in the Sun–Earth circular restricted three-body problem. Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, 120 (3). pp. 309-336. ISSN 0923-2958

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Abstract

In this paper, a method to capture near-Earth objects (NEOs) incorporating low-thrust propulsion into the invariant manifolds technique is investigated. Assuming that a tugboat-spacecraft is in a rendez-vous condition with the candidate asteroid, the aim is to take the joint spacecraft-asteroid system to a selected periodic orbit of the Sun–Earth restricted three-body system: the orbit can be either a libration point periodic orbit (LPO) or a distant prograde periodic orbit (DPO) around the Earth. In detail, low-thrust propulsion is used to bring the joint spacecraft-asteroid system from the initial condition to a point belonging to the stable manifold associated to the final periodic orbit: from here onward, thanks to the intrinsic dynamics of the physical model adopted, the flight is purely ballistic. Dedicated guided and capture sets are introduced to exploit the combined use of low-thrust propulsion with stable manifolds trajectories, aiming at defining feasible first guess solutions. Then, an optimal control problem is formulated to refine and improve them. This approach enables a new class of missions, whose solutions are not obtainable neither through the patched-conics method nor through the classic invariant manifolds technique.

Creators(s): Mingotti, G., Sánchez, J. P. and McInnes, C. R.;
Item type:Article
ID code:53861
Keywords:asteroid retrieval candidates, distant prograde periodic orbit (DPO), easily retrievable objects (EROs), invariant manifolds, libration point periodic orbit (LPO), low-thrust propulsion, near earth object capture, optimal control problem, special dedicated sets, Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science
Subjects:Technology > Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics
Department:University of Strathclyde > University of Strathclyde
Faculty of Engineering > Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Technology and Innovation Centre > Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing
Depositing user: Pure Administrator
Date deposited:24 Jul 2015 10:51
Last modified:20 May 2020 18:44
Related URLs:
URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/53861
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