A FUNCTIONAL EQUATION APPROACH TO A PROBLEM OF LOW THRUST MOTION,

Abstract

The radial acceleration program which minimizes the propellant required by a vehicle to transfer from some given initial state to one of a certain class of preassigned final states in agiven time is obtained through the use of both dynamic programming techniques and the calculus of variations. The optimum acceleration program is shown to vary both secularly and periodically with the central angle. In addition, the equations of motion are solved, thus indicating the trajectory flown by the vehicle under the aforementioned thrust program. An application to orbital rendezvous problems is briefly discussed. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 24, 1963
Accession Number
AD0422639

Entities

People

  • B. H. Billik

Organizations

  • The Aerospace Corporation

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Calculus
  • Calculus Of Variations
  • Computer Programming
  • Dynamic Programming
  • Equations
  • Equations Of Motion
  • Mathematics
  • Propellants
  • Rendezvous
  • Trajectories

Readers

  • Operations Research
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Space Exploration and Orbital Mechanics.

Technology Areas

  • Space
  • Space - Hall-Effect Thruster
  • Space - Spacecraft Maneuvers