On the stabilizing effect of Solar Radiation Pressure in the Earth-Moon system

Solar sails change the natural dynamics of systems: Trajectories that are driven by gravitational forces can be displaced and changed because of the effect of Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP). Moreover, if the lightness number of the sail is large enough, the instability of certain orbits can be dimin...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Advances in space research 2021-05, Vol.67 (9), p.2812-2822
Main Authors: Jorba-Cuscó, Marc, Farrés, Ariadna, Jorba, Àngel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Continuation
Dynamical equivalents
Halo orbit
Solar Radiation Pressure
Stability
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Solar sails change the natural dynamics of systems: Trajectories that are driven by gravitational forces can be displaced and changed because of the effect of Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP). Moreover, if the lightness number of the sail is large enough, the instability of certain orbits can be diminished and even removed. In this paper we modify two models for the motion of a probe in the Earth-Moon system that include the effect of Sun’s gravity to take also into account the effect of SRP. These models, the Bicircular Problem (BCP) and the Quasi-Bicircular Problem (QBCP), are periodic perturbations of the Earth-Moon Restricted Three Body Problem (RTBP). The models are modified to consider the effect of the SRP upon a solar sail. We provide examples of periodic orbits that are stabilized (or made less unstable) due to the effect of SRP.
ISSN:0273-1177
1879-1948
DOI:10.1016/j.asr.2020.01.017