The aim of this paper is to analyze optimal trajectories of a solar sail-based spacecraft in missions towards the outer Solar System region. The paper proposes a simplified approach able to estimate the minimum flight time required to reach a given (sufficiently high) heliocentric distance. In particular, the effect of a set of solar photonic assists on the overall mission performance is analyzed with a simplified numerical approach. A comparison with results taken from the existing literature show the soundness of the proposed approach.
Solar Sail Simplified Optimal Control Law for Reaching High Heliocentric Distances
Aerotec. Missili Spaz.
Aerotecnica Missili & Spazio ; 100 , 4 ; 337-344
2021-12-01
8 pages
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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