Swing-by window expansion for WSB lunar gravity capture via low continuous thrust

Keita Tanaka*, Jun'ichiro Kawaguchi

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Weak stability boundary (WSB) lunar gravity-capture transfers can save much effort (dV) on arrival at the Moon but there is a very narrow window of only a few days in a month to achieve these transfers. This is because WSB transfers require a specific orientation of the orbit with regard to the Sun, the Earth and the Moon to efficiently use the chaotic dynamics of the multi-body problem. In this paper, we propose controlling the orbit through small continuous acceleration. The results show that the window of the WSB transfer can be expanded up to a full month.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)25-30
Number of pages6
JournalTransactions of the Japan Society for Aeronautical and Space Sciences
Volume56
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jan 2013
Externally publishedYes

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