Automated Multiple Gravity-Assist Sequence Optimisation: An intelligent parallel-computing methodology

While the space industry expands rapidly and space exploration becomes ever more relevant, this thesis aims to automate the design of Multiple Gravity-Assist (MGA) transfers using low-thrust propulsion. In particular, during the preliminary design phase of space missions, the combinatorial complexity of MGA sequencing is large and current...

Differential dynamic programming applied to interplanetary solar-sail trajectory optimization

Recent studies have shown the feasibility of differential dynamic programming (DDP) in optimizing Earth-centered solar-sail trajectories. In order to further demonstrate the ability of DDP in the optimization of solar-sail trajectories, this work investigates the performance of DDP for optimizing interplanetary solar-sail trajectories. The...

On the Design of a Micropropulsion Based Inflation System for Beyond Earth Orbit CubeSat Inflatable Reflectors

In recent years an exciting new era of space exploration has begun with the advent of the beyond Earth orbit CubeSat (BEOC) missions. However, utilizing the CubeSat platform for such missions gives rise to a series of significant technological challenges. Fortunately, the field of inflatable space structures offers some tantalizing solutions to...

Online Surrogate Models for the Constrained Optimization of Interplanetary Low-Thrust Trajectories

The optimization of interplanetary, low-­thrust trajectories is a computationally expensive aspect of preliminary mission design. To reduce the computational burden associated with it, surrogate models can be used as cheap approximations of the original fitness function. Training the surrogate models in a fully online manner can be done to...

Chemical propulsion system design for autonomous Mars CubeSat mission

Interplanetary CubeSat missions enable low-cost exploration missions, in which the design of a primary propulsion system becomes crucial. Emphasis is put on an autonomous Mars mission starting from a parking orbit around Earth: chemical propulsion systems are characterized by high thrust levels and allow fast Earth escape manoeuvres. In recent...

Comparing the performance of machine learning methods in a surrogate approach to optimize low-thrust interplanetary trajectories

Various machine learning algorithms have been applied to find optimal lowthrust<br/>satellite trajectories, however, no fair comparison of their accuracy has been made yet. In this paper, two common and promising supervised machine learning algorithms are compared for their regression capacities:<br/>the artificial neural network and the...

Global Optimization of Low-Thrust Interplanetary Trajectories Using a Machine Learning Surrogate

In this thesis, a new method to approximate the cost function of Low-Thrust, Multiple-Gravity-Assist interplanetary trajectories using a Machine Learning surrogate is proposed. This method speeds up the optimization process without fine tuning of the surrogate parameters for every individual case. The computational cost of obtaining training...

Propulsive abort trajectory options for a reconnaissance human Mars mission

For a human Mars exploration mission, it is required to minimize the time-of-flight of the interplanetary trajectories to mitigate the adverse effects of the radiation environment and prolonged weightlessness conditions on the health of the crew. Moreover, having a fail-safe provision to return the crew back to Earth in case of a mission abort...

Searching for two optimal trajectories: A study on different approaches to global optimization of gravity-assist trajectories that have a backup departure opportunity

In interplanetary space missions, it is convenient to have a second departure opportunity in case the first is missed. Two distinct approaches to minimizing the maximum of the two Delta-V budgets of such a trajectory pair, are developed. The first (‘a priori’) approach optimizes the variables of both trajectories at once. The second (‘a...

Optimisation Strategies for Galilean Moon Tours: Low-Thrust Multiple Gravity-Assist Trajectory Design for GTOC6

Around 1610 Galileo Galilei made his discovery of the four large moons orbiting Jupiter which are referred to now as the Galilean moons. The moons Europa and Ganymede attract a significant amount of scientific interest due to potential present subsurface oceans. As consequence, the design of missions to go there and explore the moon system are...

Application of the Spherical Shaping Method to a Low-Thrust Multiple Asteroid Rendezvous Mission: Implementation, limitations and solutions

Since the development of the exponential sinusoid for low-thrust trajectory design by Petropoulos and Longuski [2004], more shape-based methods have emerged that ease up the work of a mission analyst. These methods are the ideal tool to generate a quick and almost complete overview of a large search space and are useful for producing first...

Optimization of Space Trajectories Including Multiple Gravity Assists and Deep Space Maneuvers

The optimization of high-thrust interplanetary trajectories continues to draw attention. Especially when both Multiple Gravity Assists (MGA) as well as Deep Space Maneuvers (DSMs) are included, the optimization is typically very difficult. The search space may be characterized by a large number of minima and is furthermore very sensitive to...

Interplanetary Trajectory Design using Dynamical Systems Theory

Instead of the two-body problem commonly used in interplanetary trajectory design, also three bodies can be considered: the satellite, a planet and the Sun. Knowing that planet and Sun orbit one another in almost circular orbits, and the mass of the satellite is negligible compared to the mass of these bodies, the model of the circular...

Analytical representations of low-thrust trajectories

Trajectory optimization for a mission to Neptune and Triton