Abstract
This paper presents the complete analysis of the problem of minimum-fuel aeroassisted transfer between coplanar elliptical orbits in the case where the orientation of the final orbit is free for selec- tion in the optimization process. The comparison between the optimal pure propulsive transfer and the idealized aeroassisted transfer, by several passages through the atmosphere, is made. In the case where aeroassisted transfer provides fuel saving, a practical scheme for its realization by one passage is proposed. The maneuver consists of three phases: A deorbit phase for non zero entry angle, followed by an atmospheric fly-through withdvariable drag control and completed by a post atmospheric phase. An explicit guidance formula for drag control is derived and it is shown that the required exit speed for ascent to the final orbit can be obtained with a very high degree of accuracy.
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