AAS 98-203

SIMPLE CONTROL LAWS FOR LOW-THRUST ORBIT TRANSFERS

C. A. Kluever - University of Missouri-Columbia/Kansas City

Abstract

The maturation and successful demonstration of solar electric propulsion (SEP) technology will enhance the need for practical guidance and control laws for long-duration SEP orbit transfers. This paper presents several simple control laws for performing a variety of orbit transfers for SEP spacecraft. The control laws are developed by investigating the nature of the governing equations of motion. The result is a set of control laws that are simple functions of the spacecraft's current state. Numerical examples for a variety of orbit transfers are presented.

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