MULTI-BODY DYNAMICS METHOD OF GENERATING FUEL EFFICIENT TRANSFER ORBITS FOR SPACECRAFT

摘要

A method of generating orbital transfers for spacecraft. The method provides an innovative technique for transferring spacecraft from one Earth orbit to another Earth orbit using significant solar gravitational influences. In one particular implementation, the multi-bodies in the transfer determination are the Earth (about which the spacecraft is to orbit) and the Sun (e.g., the Earth and the Sun are the first and second celestial bodies providing multi-body dynamics). The transfer orbit or trajectory is determined to make use of efficient tangential maneuvers by leveraging solar gravitational influences to improve transfer performance. Based on the generated transfer orbit, the spacecraft is controlled to perform one or more maneuvers to achieve a transfer orbit that traverses into a regime where the spacecraft's trajectory is significantly affected by gravity from both the Sun and the Earth. The spacecraft performs a near-tangential orbit insertion maneuver to enter the final orbit.