The use of consecutive collision orbits to obtain swing-by maneuvers
- Paper number
IAC-05-C1.6.08
- Author
Dr. Antonio Prado, National Institute for Space Research, Brazil
- Coauthor
Mr. Denilson Santos, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), Brazil
- Year
2005
- Abstract
The problem of transfer orbits from one body back to the same body has been under investigation for a long time. Hénon (1968) originally developed a timing condition in the eccentric anomaly for orbits that allow a spacecraft to leave the massless body M2 (the Moon or a planet), go in an orbit around the other primary M1 (the Earth or the Sun) and meet M2 again, after a certain time. This was treated as the problem of consecutive collision orbits. In the present research this problem is formulated as that of an orbit transfer, which can be solved with Gooding's implementation of the Lambert's problem (Gooding, 1990). The solution is used to make a swing-by maneuver with M2 at the time that the spacecraft meet with this body in the second time. The Swing-By is a maneuver that uses a close approach with a celestial body to modify the energy, velocity and angular momentum of a spacecraft around the central body. The use of this maneuver is very important in optimization of costs in real missions. In this paper, the Swing-By receive a mathematical treatment with the dynamics of two bodies. This approach is usually known as patched conics. So, the main goal of the present paper is to develop an algorithm that solve the consecuttive collision problem and relate the variables involved in this problem (initial and final positions and time of flight) with the variation in velocity, energy and angular momentum obtained from the swing by. The main application of those results are for interplanetary missions that uses a close approach with the Earth to gain energy. In this situation, it is possible to vary the date of the departure from Earth and the travel time from the launching from Earth until the swing-by and relate those variables with the gain in energy. This allows missions designers to choose important orbital parameters of the mission. Although missions from Earth are the most important application, other planets can also be considered in the algorithm presented, such as missions leaving Jupiter and returning to Jupiter for a Swing-By in the second pass. References GOODING, R.H. (1990), "A Procedure for the Solution of Lambert's Orbital Boundary-Value Problem," Celestial Mechanics, Vol. 48, pp. 145-165. HÉNON, M. (1968), "Sur les Orbites Interplanétaires qui Rencontrent Deux Fois la Terre," Bull. Astron., Vol. 3, pp. 377-402.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-05-C1.6.08.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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