Investigation of the Relative Motion Between Spacecraft on Different Hyperbolic Trajectories
Open Access
- Author:
- Stueck, Clifford
- Area of Honors:
- Aerospace Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Robert G. Melton, Thesis Supervisor
Philip John Morris, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Hyperbolic Orbits
Numerical Integration
Orbital Elements
Range and Range-Rate - Abstract:
- The purpose of this research is to assess the effects of differences in position, inclination, and right ascension of the ascending node (RAAN) when applied to multiple spacecraft on different hyperbolic orbits. The rationale for conducting this work is to understand if the suggested model can prove useful for interplanetary missions involving two or more spacecraft on hyperbolic paths with respect to an object of interest. As an example, this could mean collecting sensor data from separate vehicles that could then be combined to form a distributed sensor. The range and range-rate between spacecraft pairs were compared to observe how different orbits and initial conditions could prove useful in minimizing the average range and range-rate. The study revealed that a change in inclination presented the smallest range whereas a change in RAAN was able to limit the range-rate between the spacecraft on different orbits. However, if two spacecraft are on the same orbit, changes to the RAAN and inclination have practically no impact on the range and range rate of the spacecraft pair. A future study will apply the second order solution of the relative-motion model to hyperbolic paths to examine if an improvement in accuracy can be made in determining the coordinates of the spacecraft, but with lower computational burden. An optimizer will also be implemented for minimizing the average range and range-rate in order to determine a method for ways in which multiple spacecraft on different orbits can find a time to communicate with each other while they move together around a planet.