Improved Initial Value Estimates for Minimum-Fuel Orbital Transfers.
Abstract
A method is developed for computing improved initial-value estimates for minimum-fuel transfer trajectories between coplanar, elliptic orbits with a thrust-limited, variable-mass rocket moving in an inverse square-law gravitational field. The initial and final orbits are specified by their eccentricities, semilateral recta and arguments of pericenter and the entire transfer consists of two finite-thrust phases. Estimates for the parameters of the optimal transfer trajectory are provided by the two-impulse solution and the techniques presented in this study provide good estimates for the unknown initial values of unspecified control, state and adjoint variables which are required to successfully compute the minimum-fuel transfer trajectory between specified orbits. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0860126
Entities
People
- Daniel E. Gill
- Gary D. Wambold
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology