Peloni, A. , Dachwald, B. and Ceriotti, M. (2018) Multiple near-earth asteroid rendezvous mission: solar-sailing options. Advances in Space Research, 62(8), pp. 2084-2098. (doi: 10.1016/j.asr.2017.10.017)
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Abstract
The scientific interest in near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) and the classification of some of those as potentially hazardous for the Earth stimulated the interest in their exploration. Close-up observations of these objects will drastically increase our knowledge about the overall NEA population. For this reason, a multiple NEA rendezvous mission through solar sailing is investigated, taking advantage of the propellantless nature of this propulsion technology. Considering a spacecraft based on the DLR/ESA Gossamer technology, this work focuses on a method for searching possible sequences of NEA encounters. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated through a number of fully-optimised trajectories. The results show that it is possible to visit five NEAs within 10 years with near-term solar-sail technology. Moreover, a study on a reduced NEA database demonstrates the reliability of the approach used, showing that 58% of the sequences found with an approximated trajectory model can be converted into real feasible solar-sail trajectories. Overall, the study shows the effectiveness of the proposed automatic optimisation algorithm, which is able to find solutions for a large number of mission scenarios without any input required from the user.
| Item Type: | Articles |
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| Additional Information: | Alessandro Peloni gratefully acknowledges support for this research from the School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for funding his research under the James Watt sponsorship program, award number 1370838. |
| Keywords: | Automatic trajectory design, solar sail, tree-search algorithm, multiphase trajectory optimisation, Gossamer, near-earth asteroids, nultiple rendezvous. |
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Ceriotti, Dr Matteo and Peloni, Mr Alessandro |
| Authors: | Peloni, A., Dachwald, B., and Ceriotti, M. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy |
| Journal Name: | Advances in Space Research |
| Publisher: | Elsevier |
| ISSN: | 0273-1177 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1879-1948 |
| Published Online: | 31 October 2017 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2017 COSPAR |
| First Published: | First published in Advances in Space Research 62(8): 2084-2098 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher |
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