Feasibility of Synchronized CubeSat Missions from Low Earth Orbit to Near-Earth Asteroids

Abstract

The present study investigates the feasibility of deploying multiple CubeSats from low Earth orbit to near-Earth asteroids for an increased scientific return and reduced mission costs. It is found that for an escape time of 300 days, solar cell and battery degradation are 11 and 28%, respectively. The escape orbital plane inclination of 51.6 deg reduces the overall radiation dosage and requires 2.51 kg of propellant. Interplanetary mission values fall between 0 and , and low-thrust propellant requirements fall between 2.51 and 3.11 kg, for a dry spacecraft mass of 4.5 kg. The deployment strategy reduces mission costs by allowing the CubeSats to perform the Earth escape maneuver independently once deployed from the International Space Station. Time series regression neural networks were constructed to predict future space-station orbital states, whose uncertainty limits fall within CubeSat mass constraints. Synchronization of missions is performed by selecting the deployment sequence, which minimizes the overall time between consecutive CubeSat orbital injections. Optimal interplanetary, low-thrust trajectories were obtained using differential evolution, with a corrective high-thrust maneuver required at the start of the interplanetary phase. Propellant requirements for the corrective maneuver range between 1.3 and 3.3 kg of propellant using chemical propulsion.