Efficient Trajectory Prediction of Aeroassisted Orbital Maneuvers Based on Energy Substitution

Aeroassisted orbital maneuvers offer a fuel-saving strategy for orbital transfer missions, yet existing aeroassisted trajectory planning and guidance methods often face computational bottlenecks in balancing performance with real-time applicability. The aeroassisted trajectory prediction plays a foundational role in trajectory planning and guidance, so an accurate and efficient trajectory prediction method is in dead demand. To address this challenge, this paper proposes an energy substitution-based predictive framework for efficient fuel-optimal trajectory prediction during aeroassisted orbital maneuvers. Building upon the fuel-optimal trajectory analysis for typical scenarios, a piecewise-parameterized flight path angle model that adaptively captures optimal profiles across varying energy states is established, based on which the closed-form terminal energy expressions are derived, enabling fast and consistent trajectory prediction in both descending and ascending phases. Numerical simulations for typical aeroassisted orbital maneuver missions confirm the method's unified superior capability to predict and generate fuel-optimal paths under various scenarios. This energy substitution paradigm establishes a new pathway for real-time trajectory planning and guidance in aeroassisted orbital maneuvers.