Abstract The fascinating idea of shepherding asteroids for science and resource utilization is being considered as a credible concept in a not too distant future. Past studies identified asteroids which could be efficiently injected into manifolds which wind onto periodic orbits around collinear Lagrangian points of the Sun-Earth system. However, the trajectories are unstable, and errors in the capture maneuver would lead to complete mission failure, with potential danger of collision with the Earth, if uncontrolled. This paper investigates the controllability of some asteroids along the transfers and the periodic orbits, assuming the use of a solar-electric low-thrust system shepherding the asteroid. Firstly, an analytical approach is introduced to estimate the stability of the trajectories from a dynamical point of view; then, a numerical control scheme based on a linear quadratic regulator is proposed, where the gains are optimized for each trajectory through a genetic algorithm. A stochastic simulation with a Monte Carlo approach is used to account for different perturbed initial conditions and the epistemic uncertainty on the asteroid mass. Results show that only a small subset of the considered combinations of trajectories/asteroids are reliably controllable, and therefore controllability must be taken into account in the selection of potential targets.
Highlights Some asteroids can be efficiently shepherded into Sun-Earth Lagrangian-point orbits. Transfer trajectories and orbits are unstable: we investigate their controllability. An analytical approach and a numerical LQR-based control are used. Uncertainty on asteroid mass and errors in injection maneuver are also considered. 2006 RH120 to L2 Halo North and 2006 RH120 to L2 Halo South are most controllable.
Control of asteroid retrieval trajectories to libration point orbits
Acta Astronautica ; 126 ; 342-353
2016-03-05
12 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
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