This paper introduces a new technique for directly controlling the missed thrust recovery margin (MTRM) of a low-thrust spacecraft trajectory. MTRM is defined here as the longest amount of time a spacecraft may coast away from a nominal trajectory while still being able to reach a terminal manifold once thruster operations are resumed. The “virtual swarm” optimization technique developed here simultaneously optimizes the nominal spacecraft trajectory along with many recovery trajectories. The objective can be to maximize the MTRM of the nominal trajectory at its weakest point or to constrain the worst-case MTRM to be at or above a desired level while optimizing a different value (e.g., mass, time of flight). The technique is demonstrated for a direct Earth–Mars transfer and for a gravity assist trajectory to the asteroid Psyche. Further, a method for finding the Pareto front of MTRM, arrival mass, and arrival date is presented to address the related multi-objective optimization problem.
Multi-Objective Low-Thrust Trajectory Optimization with Robustness to Missed Thrust Events
Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics ; 45 , 7 ; 1255-1268
2022-07-01
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English