AAS 98-185

AUTONOMOUS CONTROLLED LANDING ON COMETARY BODIES

S. Dawson, C. W. Potterveld, H. Konigsmann, L. Early - Microcosm Inc.

Abstract

Control laws for autonomously guiding a spacecraft through a series of waypoints in inertial space were applied to the problem of autonomously landing on a cometary body. The cometary body used was based largely on models of comet 46 P/Wirtanen. Waypoints were generated by solving Lambert's Problem in universal variables. Initial simulations resulted in soft touchdowns (< 1 m/s) within a few meters of the intended target, demonstrating the feasibility of this approach.

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