SOME COMPUTATIONAL ASPECTS OF THE MINIMUM FUEL CONTINUOUS LOW THRUST ORBIT TRANSFER PROBLEM
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the computational aspects of the minimum fuel continuous low thrust orbit transfer problem and to display characteristic numerical features introduced by various physical constraints. Minimum-fuel orbit transfer by low thrust is typical of many problems in optimal control which result in a two point boundary value problem which must be solved by some iterative numerical procedure. Two techniques, Multiple Substitution Ploynomials (MSP) and Marquardt's method, are shown to be applicable to this task, and a detailed analysis is made of the behavior of these methods in the context of the low thrust problem. A variety of sub-problems is considered with parametric variation of endpoints, thrust-to-weight ratio, and orbit axial orientation. A physical barrier is found which restricts sample points in certain limiting case fixed endpoint transfers. The existence of multiple stationary solutions is shown for the case of intersecting orbits, and the nearly singular behavior in that region is investigated. Numerical results for several transfers are found to compare with similar results reported elsewhere.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 04, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0693563
Entities
People
- J. L. Starr
- R. D. Sugar
Organizations
- The Aerospace Corporation