AAS 97-616
GUIDANCE MARGIN AUGMENTATION IN LOW-THRUST TRAJECTORY DESIGN
J. Kawaguchi - ISAS, Japan
Abstract
In the low-thrust trajectory syntheses, what is of most concern has been how the guidance margin can be buried in the steering strategy. Generally speaking, the steering and propulsion error that may take place in earlier sensitive arcs may affect the later mid-course trajectory control budget drastically. A new criterion needs to be established in the orbit synthesis rather than the conventional fuel-minimum optimization. This paper discusses the strategic design making the steering program insensitive to the potential direction error with some comprehensive numerical examples.