Time-Optimal Transfers Between Planar Solar-Sail Libration Point Orbits

This paper presents time-optimal transfer trajectories between planar solar-sail displaced libration point orbits around the $L_1$ and $L_2$ points of the Sun-Earth and Earth-Moon systems. Initial guesses for these transfers are generated as two-segment trajectories, with a fixed sail attitude along each segment. The position and velocity...

Mission analysis of space-based telescopes to detect impacting near-Earth objects

Recognising the threat of near-Earth objects (NEOs), many ground-based surveys have been deployed worldwide. However, ~20% of these potential impactors are estimated to be approaching us from the day-side, and are thus very difficult to detect using ground surveys. Over the last decade, several space-based capabilities have emerged in an effort...

Controllability of solar-sail orbits in the Earth-Moon system

The propellantless nature of solar-sail propulsion allows researchers to design completely new sets of orbits unreachable or not-maintainable by means of conventional propulsion. The advantage of this somewhat new type of low-thrust propulsion system becomes more evident for long-duration missions where chemical or electrical rocket engines...

Solar Sail Periodic Orbits using Taylor Series Integration: Computation and applications of solar sail periodic orbit families in the Earth-Moon and binary asteroid systems

Solar sailing is an innovative space propulsion system based solely on the exchange of momentum between a reflective surface and the photons radiated as light from the Sun. It is completely propellant-free, so the maximum propulsion time is only limited by the lifetime of the sail. But not only does solar sailing provide unlimited propulsion, it...