Analysis of the change of orbital elements in the process of gravity assist

Abstract

Gravity assist is widely applied in the deep space exploration because of its reliability and practicability. There are lots of research in the literature about the nearly coplanar situations. In this work, a three-dimensional model of gravity assist model is developed in a semi-analytical manner on the basis of the geometry relationship between the parameters of spacecraft before gravity assist and the orbital elements after gravity assist. The parameters include V∞in (the hyperbolic excess velocity vector of the spacecraft before fly-by), H (the height of fly-by) and θ (the dihedral angle between approach plane and fly-by plane). These equations can be used for analyzing the change of orbital elements in the process of gravity assist, discussing the influence of different parameters on them and deriving the condition that remains the semi-major axis unchanged. Curve fitting of the feasible region boundary of Δi and contour plot of Δi are utilized to analyze the pattern of Δi changing with different parameters. This method is a valuable reference for designing gravity assist trajectories to high inclination targets in the Solar system.