Analysis of the trajectory of spacecraft return from the lunar surface to a given region of the Earth
Authors: Konstantinov M.S., Nikolichev I.A., Thant Aung Myo
Published in issue: #12(120)/2021
DOI: 10.18698/2308-6033-2021-12-2139
Category: Aviation and Rocket-Space Engineering | Chapter: Aircraft Dynamics, Ballistics, Motion Control
The paper describes a method developed for designing the trajectory of a spacecraft flight from the lunar surface to a given area of the Earth’s surface and analyzes a single-pulse flight scheme, in which the trajectory of a take-off lunar rocket is approximated by a single velocity pulse. The characteristics of the spacecraft entry into the Earth’s atmosphere are chosen so as to ensure that the conditions along the entry corridor during the ballistic entry are met and to ensure the landing of the reentry vehicle at a given point on the Earth’s surface. The criterion for optimizing the trajectory of the spacecraft return to the Earth is considered to be the value of the impulse that provides the spacecraft launch from the lunar surface. The method relies on the analysis of an auxiliary problem, the solution of which makes it possible to estimate the main properties of the investigated maneuver and find an initial approximation for the selected characteristics of the optimized trajectory.
References
[1] Bridges J. Chang’e 5: China launches sample return mission to the moon — is it winning the new space rase? Available at: https://www.space.com/change-5-china-moon-sample-return-mission-to-the-moon-winning-new-space-race (accessed 10 December 2021).
[2] Standish E.M. JPL Planetary and Lunar Ephemerides. DE405/LE405. JPL IOM 312.F-98-048. 1998.
[3] Archinal B.A., A’Hearn M.F., Bowell E., Conrad A., Consolmagno G.J., Courtin R. Report of the IAU Working Group on Cartographic Coordinates and Rotational Elements: 2009. Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2010, 35 p. DOI: 10.1007/s10569-010-9320-4
[4] Konstantinov M.S. Method of designing interplanetary trajectories of a SC with EP within the problem of many-bodies. AIP Conference Proceedings, 2021, vol. 2318, no. 1, pp. 110019-1–11019-11. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0035791
[5] Gusev L.I. Kosmicheskie issledovaniya — Cosmic research, 1974, vol. 12, no. 5, pp. 682–690.
[6] Li J., Gong Sh., Wang X., Li J. Launch window for manned Moon-to-Earth trajectories. Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, 2012, vol. 84, no. 5, pp. 344–356. DOI: 10.1108/00022661211255520
[7] Samotokhin A.S., Tuchin A.G. Preprinty IPM im. M.V. Keldysha — Keldysh Institute preprints, no. 56, 2016, 24 p. DOI: 10.20948/prepr-2016-56. Available at: http://library.keldysh.ru/preprint.asp?id=2016-56 (accessed July 2, 2020).
[8] Fazelzadeh S.A., Varzandian G.A. Minimum time Earth-Moon and Moon-to-Earth orbital maneuvers using time-domain finite element method. Acta Astronautica, 2010, vol. 66, no. 3/4, pp. 528–538.
[9] Miele A., Mancuso S. Optimal trajectories for Earth-Moon-Earth flight. Acta Astronautica, 2001, vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 59–71. DOI: 10.1016/s0094-5765(01)00007-8
[10] Ocampo C., Saudemont R.R. Initial trajectory model for multi-maneuver Moon-to-Earth abort sequence. Journal of Guidance, Control and Dynamics, 2010, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 1184–1194.