Novel Solar-Sail Mission Concept for High-Latitude Earth and Lunar Observation

Novel Solar-Sail Mission Concept for High-Latitude Earth and Lunar Observation

Heiligers, M.J. (TU Delft Astrodynamics & Space Missions)
Parker, Jeffrey S. (University of Colorado)
Macdonald, Malcolm (University of Strathclyde)

2017

Solar-sail periodic orbits in the Earth–moon circular restricted three-body problem are proposed for continuous observation of the polar regions of the Earth and the moon. The existence of families of solar-sail periodic orbits in the Earth–moon system has previously been demonstrated by the authors and is expanded by introducing additional orbit families. Orbits for near-term solar-sail technology originate by maintaining the solar sail at a constant attitude with respect to the sun such that mission operations are greatly simplified. The results of this investigation include a constellation of two solar-sail L 2
L2
-vertical Lyapunov orbits that achieves continuous observation of both the lunar South Pole and the center of the Aitken Basin at a minimum elevation of 15 deg. At Earth, a set of two, clover-shaped orbits can provide continuous coverage of one of the Earth’s poles at a minimum elevation of 20 deg. Results generated in the Earth–moon circular restricted three-body model are easily transitioned to one that includes eccentricity effects and demonstrates that the orbits are feasible in realistic regimes.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:b924332a-3f32-40c8-9cf1-653be143dce2

https://doi.org/10.2514/1.G002919

2018-11-26

0731-5090

Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics: devoted to the technology of dynamics and control, 41 (2018) (1), 212-230

AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference 2016, 2016-09-13 → 2016-09-16, Long Beach, United States

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2017 M.J. Heiligers, Jeffrey S. Parker, Malcolm Macdonald