Dynamics of a Solar Sail Around an Asteroid

Moore, I. and Ceriotti, M. (2019) Dynamics of a Solar Sail Around an Asteroid. In: 2019 PEGASUS Student Conference, Glasgow, UK, 10-12 April 2019,

Abstract

Asteroids pose both a threat and an opportunity: the threat of a catastrophic collision, the opportunity to learn about the early solar system from these pristine relics, and the possibility of exploiting their wealth of raw materials. A critical element of any mission study is in the orbital dynamics for trajectory planning. Using the Augmented Hills Restricted 3-Body Problem (AH3BP), several orbit options were sought around asteroids 2000 SG344 and 2008 EV5 for a solar sail spacecraft. Initial orbits were obtained for a spacecraft without the added acceleration of the sail. These were then used as initial conditions for increasing sail performance. Under the weak gravitational attraction of such small asteroids, the Solar Radiation Pressure (SRP) proved overpowering and periodic orbits were not possible. Methods of sail performance reduction were investigated with the aim of reducing the performance to such a point as to permit periodic orbits. The final orbits were then selected and possible transfer trajectories to the asteroid, from the interplanetary phase of the mission, were established using invariant manifolds.

• Item Type: Conference Proceedings
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Ceriotti, Dr Matteo
• Authors: Moore, I., and Ceriotti, M.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy