In 1995, an Atlas IIAS launch vehicle will loft the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) as part of the International Solar and Terrestrial Physics program. The operational phase of the SOHO mission will be conducted from a `halo orbit' about the Sun-Earth interior libration point. Depending on the time of the year of launch, the optimal transfer requires a parking orbit of variable duration to satisfy widely varying inertial targets. A simulation capability has been developed that optimizes the launch vehicle ascent and spacecraft transfer phases of flight together, subject to both launch vehicle and spacecraft constraints. It will be shown that this `ground-up' simulation removes the need for an intermediate target vector at Centaur upper stage/spacecraft separation. Although providing only a modest gain in deliverable satellite mass, this capability substantially improves the mission integration process by removing the strict reliance on near-Earth target vectors. Trajectory data from several cases are presented and future applications of this capability are also discussed.


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    Title :

    Atlas IIAS ascent trajectory design for the SOHO mission


    Contributors:


    Publication date :

    1993-01-01



    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English


    Keywords :


    Atlas IIAS Ascent Trajectory Design for the SOHO Mission (AAS 93-338)

    Willen, R. E. / Rude, B. J. / American Astronautical Society et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 1993



    Transfer trajectory design for the SOHO libration-point mission

    Dunham, D. W. / Jen, S. J. / Roberts, C. E. et al. | NTRS | 1992