Investigation of Minimum-Fuel Limited-Thrust Orbital Transfer Trajectories.
Abstract
The method of quasilinearization is applied to the solution of a system of lumped-parameter differential equations providing the necessary conditions for minimum-fuel finite-thrust transfers between coplanar orbits. A central gravitational field is assumed. The equations are derived from the basic equations describing the motion of a finite-thrust rocket. The method of optimization (a modification of quasilinearization for application to bang-bang control problems), and the computer program used to solve the problem are discussed. The method is found to be inapplicable to the problem as originally formulated, and reasons for the inapplicability are given. A new formulation is presented, and computer programming techniques relevant to its solution are discussed. A printout of the program is included. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0859003
Entities
People
- Dennis L. M. Irion
- Harold Dean Childers
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology