LOW THRUST CONSTANT ACCELERATION TRAJECTORIES FOR SOLAR PROBE MISSIONS.

Abstract

Trajectories for the 0.05 AU solar probe mission were investigated for a low thrust constant acceleration probe. Accelerations of .0002 ge to .0007 ge (ge = 32.174 ft/sq sec) were investigated and only two ranges were found acceptable: 2.0 - 2.5 x .0001 ge and 3.4 -4.0 x .0001 ge. The major limiting factor was the requirement that the terminal angle between the Earth-Sun line and the probe-Sun line lie in the range 30 degrees to 150 degrees in order to facilitate communication with the probe. Formulas which may be used to generate the influence coefficients for the guidance equations were also derived. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1968
Accession Number
AD0838858

Entities

People

  • Harvey T. Brock Jr

Organizations

  • Air Force Institute of Technology

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Astronomical Bodies
  • Coefficients
  • Equations
  • Guidance
  • Instrumentation
  • Measuring Instruments
  • Orbits
  • Probes
  • Solar Probes
  • Solar System
  • Spacecraft Orbits
  • Sun
  • Terminals
  • Trajectories

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Analytical Mechanics
  • Microwave Engineering.
  • Space/Atmospheric Physics.