Year: 2021
Type: preprint
Abstract: A method for asteroid deflection that makes use of a spacecraft moving back and forth on a segment of a Keplerian orbit about the asteroid is studied with the aim of optimizing the initial gross mass of the spacecraft. The corresponding optimization problem is formulated as a discrete nonlinear optimal control problem where the parameters of the orbit segment are the control variables. A hypothetical asteroid deflection problem is solved numerically using the method of dynamic programming, and it is shown that a gravity tractor can be obtained that is significantly more efficient in terms of deflection attained per unit mass of the spacecraft, compared to similar gravity tractors in the literature.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Author: Ketema, Yohannes
Institution: University of Minnesota
Language: English
Subfield: Aerospace Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4297225281