This study proposes a near-optimal, impulsive control method for overflying ground targets. A set of impulses, which adjusts the satellite ground trajectory to enable the overflight, is derived. The proposed impulsive solution is expressed in closed-form which only consists of orbital revolution numbers and target overflight errors. It allows not only simplifying the search for a minimum delta-v solution but also facilitating its extension to the multiple-target overflight problem. It is also provided in this paper an insight connecting the overflight problem to a relative orbit transfer problem controlling a phase angle or mean anomaly. Numerical examples for single-, two-, and three-target overflight verify that the controlled trajectory with the proposed impulsive solution successfully overflies the designated targets within a prescribed time. It is also demonstrated that the total delta-v required for the proposed method is near-optimal based on the performance comparison with a numerical optimization-based method which employs a very large set of initial guesses.
Optimal Multi-Target Overflight Using Ground-Track Adjustment
J Astronaut Sci
The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences ; 68 , 1 ; 150-171
2021-03-01
22 pages
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
Analytical solution , Ground target , Ground-track adjustment , Impulsive control , Orbit control , Overflight Engineering , Aerospace Technology and Astronautics , Mathematical Applications in the Physical Sciences , Space Sciences (including Extraterrestrial Physics, Space Exploration and Astronautics)
Thunderstorm Overflight Program
NTRS | 1980
|Thunderstorm Overflight Program
AIAA | 1980