End-to-end trajectory design for a solar-sail-only pole-sitter at Venus,Earth, and Mars |
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Authors: | Jeannette Heiligers Merel Vergaaij Matteo Ceriotti |
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Institution: | 1. Faculty of Aerospace Engineering, Delft University of Technology, 2652 HS Delft, the Netherlands;2. James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom |
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Abstract: | The concept of a pole-sitter has been under investigation for many years, showing the capability of a low-thrust propulsion system to maintain a spacecraft at a static position along a planet’s polar axis. From such a position, the spacecraft has a view of the planet’s polar regions equivalent to that of the low- and mid-latitudes from geostationary orbit. Previous work has hinted at the existence of pole-sitters that would only require a solar sail to provide the necessary propulsive thrust if a slight deviation from a position exactly along the polar axis is allowed, without compromising on the continuous view of the planet’s polar region (a so-called quasi-pole-sitter). This paper conducts a further in-depth analysis of these high-potential solar-sail-only quasi-pole-sitters and presents a full end-to-end trajectory design: from launch and transfer to orbit design and orbit control. The results are the next steppingstone towards strengthening the feasibility and utility of these orbits for continuous planetary polar observation. |
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Keywords: | Solar sailing Pole-sitter Orbit design Trajectory optimisation Orbit control |
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