Abstract
Solar-sail periodic orbits in the Earth–moon circular restricted three-body problem are proposed for continuous observation of the polar regions of the Earth and the moon. The existence of families of solar-sail periodic orbits in the Earth–moon system has previously been demonstrated by the authors and is expanded by introducing additional orbit families. Orbits for near-term solar-sail technology originate by maintaining the solar sail at a constant attitude with respect to the sun such that mission operations are greatly simplified. The results of this investigation include a constellation of two solar-sail L 2
L2
-vertical Lyapunov orbits that achieves continuous observation of both the lunar South Pole and the center of the Aitken Basin at a minimum elevation of 15 deg. At Earth, a set of two, clover-shaped orbits can provide continuous coverage of one of the Earth’s poles at a minimum elevation of 20 deg. Results generated in the Earth–moon circular restricted three-body model are easily transitioned to one that includes eccentricity effects and demonstrates that the orbits are feasible in realistic regimes.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 212-230 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics: devoted to the technology of dynamics and control |
Volume | 41 (2018) |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 2017 |
Event | AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference 2016 - Long Beach, United States Duration: 13 Sept 2016 → 16 Sept 2016 https://doi.org/10.2514/MAST16 |