Optimal lowthrust orbit transfers with eclipsing

Summary By choosing the optimal steering history of a spacecraft, it is possible to maximize the mass delivered from a park orbit to a mission orbit. A lowthrust orbit transfer that models coasts when passing through the Earth's shadow can be formulated as a largescale optimal control problem w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optimal control applications & methods 2015-03, Vol.36 (2), p.218-240
Main Author: Betts, John T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algorithms
Coasts
Earth
Mathematical models
Missions
Nonlinear programming
Optimal control
Optimization
Orbits
Online Access:Get full text
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Description
Summary:Summary By choosing the optimal steering history of a spacecraft, it is possible to maximize the mass delivered from a park orbit to a mission orbit. A lowthrust orbit transfer that models coasts when passing through the Earth's shadow can be formulated as a largescale optimal control problem with many distinct phases. This paper presents a technique that constructs an initial guess using a receding horizon algorithm. A series of largescale multiphase optimal control problems are then solved to refine the phase structure of the problem. The final optimal solution incorporates high fidelity physics and mesh refinement techniques within a large sparse nonlinear programming approach.
ISSN:0143-2087
1099-1514
DOI:10.1002/oca.2111