Influence of Steering Angle Profiles on the Orbit Transfer Trajectory

Donghun Lee,Young-Joo Song

doi:10.1155/2021/2648585

Abstract

This paper considers a planar orbit transfer trajectory design problem using finite thrust modeling. In this problem, the steering angles associated with the thrust direction are calculated from the predetermined profile format, and the unknown parameters in the profile are directly optimized. Three profile formats that were implemented in previous lunar exploration missions are considered. In addition, a steering angle profile defined in the rotating frame and the optimal steering angle profile are newly studied to compare the performances. To this end, the direct parameter optimization problem and the indirect optimization problem are formulated, and the characteristics of the steering angle profile and its influence on the transfer trajectory are analyzed.

Highlights

Numerous lunar exploration missions have been conducted to date [1,2,3,4,5,6,7], and the future missions are being planned by several space agencies and companies, such as Artemis (USA, NASA), Chandrayaan-3 (India, ISRO), SLIM (Japan, JAXA), and Luna 25 (Russia, Roscosmos) [8, 9]
In accordance with the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) mission requirements, the weak stability boundary (WSB)/ballistic lunar transfer (BLT) trajectories have been designed for transferring the KPLO spacecraft to the Moon [10, 11], and various research topics on the system design and operational strategies have been studied in this diverse field [12, 13]
Four options for the steering angle profile are considered in the direct optimization method: (1) a zero-order polynomial profile defined in the inertial coordinate frame, (2) a firstorder polynomial profile defined in the inertial coordinate frame, (3) a first-order polynomial profile defined in the rotating frame, and (4) the antivelocity direction along the trajectory

Summary

Introduction

Numerous lunar exploration missions have been conducted to date [1,2,3,4,5,6,7], and the future missions are being planned by several space agencies and companies, such as Artemis (USA, NASA), Chandrayaan-3 (India, ISRO), SLIM (Japan, JAXA), and Luna 25 (Russia, Roscosmos) [8, 9]. E objective is to study the influence of the steering angle profile on the orbit transfer trajectory to develop a strategy for the lunar orbit acquisition phase. Several factors affect the transfer trajectories of the lunar orbit acquisition phase To eliminate these other effects and to focus on the characteristics of each steering angle profiles, perturbation forces, such as the gravitational forces of the Sun and Earth and the solar radiation pressure, are excluded, and only planar orbital motions are considered. The three steering angle profiles that were employed in previous lunar exploration missions are considered to design the transfer trajectories. E subsequent numerical examples explain the new findings associated with the influences of the steering angle profile on the orbit transfer trajectory design problem E remainder of this paper is organized as follows: First, the orbit transfer problem using a single finite-burn maneuver is formulated. en, the indirect and direct optimization problems are formulated, and the design parameters for each steering angle profile are presented. e subsequent numerical examples explain the new findings associated with the influences of the steering angle profile on the orbit transfer trajectory design problem

Orbit Transfer Trajectory under a Single Finite-Burn Maneuver

Direct Optimization Method

Numerical Studies

Conclusions