Abstract
Placing a small satellite into a high-inclination orbit with respect to the ecliptic plane may offer a low-cost option for opportunistic and targeted observations of the polar regions of the Sun or the zodiacal dust cloud of the solar system. In this paper, dynamical systems theory and hybrid optimization techniques are integrated into a cohesive framework to design low-thrust trajectories for a small satellite to reach a highly out-of-ecliptic science orbit near the Sun–Earth equilibrium point. Propellant-optimal low-thrust trajectories with a specific geometry are designed and studied across a variety of engine and power models within a low-thrust-enabled circular restricted three-body problem. The geometry of the trajectories is then varied during the initial guess construction process to support a preliminary study of the tradeoff between flight time and propellant mass usage.
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