Delta-v requirements for earth co-orbital rendezvous missions

作者：Stacey R Greg^*; Connors Martin

来源：Planetary and Space Science, 2009, 57(7): 822-829.

DOI：10.1016/j.pss.2009.01.013

• Asteroid
• Rendezvous
• Co-orbital
• Quasi-satellite
• Earth

Earth co-orbital asteroids present advantages as potential targets for future asteroid rendezvous missions. Their prolonged proximity to Earth facilitates communication, while their Earth-like orbits mean a steady flux of solar power and no significant periodic heating and cooling of the spacecraft throughout the course of the mission. Theoretical studies show that low-inclination co-orbital orbits are more stable than high-inclination orbits. As inclination is the most significant indicator of low delta-v rendezvous orbits, there is the potential for a large population of easily accessible asteroids, with favorable engineering requirements. This study first looks at phase-independent rendezvous orbits to a large number of objects, then looks in more detail at the phase-dependent orbits to the most favorable objects. While rendezvous orbits to co-orbital objects do not have a low delta-v necessarily, some objects present energy requirements significantly less than previous rendezvous missions. Currently we find no ideal co-orbital asteroids for rendezvous missions, although theoretical Earth Trojans present very low-energy requirements for rendezvous.

• 出版日期2009-6