Masters Theses
Abstract
"Humankind’s presence in deep space is certain to increase throughout future decades. Future missions will continue to exploit the complex dynamics making use of liberation point orbits. Along with this trend is the rise of small satellites ("small sats") and fractionated spacecraft in general. Compared to traditional monolithic spacecraft, small sats can often have higher maneuverability, be a fraction of the cost, and be more expendable in nature. The growing interest in these two areas drives the need for improvements in the area of relative motion in deep space. One obvious use of small sats in deep space is for repair and servicing of a larger spacecraft. Small sats do, however, have a key limitation: propellant resources. This work focuses on computing natural (i.e. ballistic) relative trajectories in a higher-fidelity model compared to the well-studied circular restricted three-body problem (CR3BP). The model used is the non-autonomous, time-dependent elliptic restricted three-body problem, where the eccentricity of the primaries is no longer relaxed to zero. These natural trajectories can enable the small sat to conserve propellant as they require fewer maneuvers. This work uses the well-known targeting algorithm referred to as the "two-level targeter" (TLT). A lower fidelity solution for the chief and deputy spacecraft trajectories is used to initiate the targeting algorithm. The TLT then uses the exact nonlinear equations of motion to correct both position and velocity discontinuities between the given solution when propagated in the ER3BP model. To account for the eccentricity of the ER3BP, natural parameter continuation is used. Ultimately, this approach successfully converges to a higher-fidelity solution for relative motion between a chief spacecraft initialized on a Lissajous orbit about the Earth-Moon L2 point and a deputy small sat. Several test scenarios are explored that demonstrate the working methods and the resulting relative trajectories in the higher-fidelity model"-- Abstract, p. iii
Advisor(s)
Pernicka, Henry J.
Committee Member(s)
Hosder, Serhat
Corns, Steven
Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Degree Name
M.S. in Aerospace Engineering
Publisher
Missouri University of Science and Technology
Publication Date
Spring 2025
Pagination
ix, 65 pages
Note about bibliography
Includes_bibliographical_references_(pages 62-64)
Rights
©2024 Dane Huck , All Rights Reserved
Document Type
Thesis - Open Access
File Type
text
Language
English
Thesis Number
T 12458
Recommended Citation
Huck, Dane, "Computation Of Natural Relative Trajectories In The Elliptic Restricted Three-Body Problem" (2025). Masters Theses. 8230.
https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses/8230
