Trajectory optimization and applications using high performance solar sails

Xiangyuan Zeng, Junfeng Li*, Hexi Baoyin, Shengping Gong

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The high performance solar sail can enable fast missions to the outer solar system and produce exotic non-Keplerian orbits. As there is no fuel consumption, mission trajectories for solar sail spacecraft are typically optimized with respect to flight time. Several investigations focused on interstellar probe missions have been made, including optimal methods and new objective functions. Two modes of interstellar mission trajectories, namely “direct flyby” and “angular momentum reversal trajectory”, are compared and discussed. As a foundation, a 3D non-dimensional dynamic model for an ideal plane solar sail is introduced as well as an optimal control framework. A newly found periodic double angular momentum reversal trajectory is presented, and some properties and potential applications of this kind of inverse orbits are illustrated. The method how to achieve the minimum periodic inverse orbit is also briefly elucidated.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)33001
Number of pages1
JournalTheoretical and Applied Mechanics Letters
Volume1
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • angular momentum reversal
  • non-Keplerian orbit
  • solar sail
  • time optimal control

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