Finding Structure in Chaos- Identification of Structures in Astrodynamics
Abstract
University of Southampton will study the application of hyperbolic Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCS) to the full 6-dimensional phase space of realistic astrodynamical systems with the goal of finding novel and robust low-energy transfers within these systems. These trajectories are at the core of designing e.g. future asteroid deflection missions for planetary protection or studying the long-term stability and safety of spacecraft disposal. LCS are a relatively new numerical method for identification of structures in dynamical systems. Similar structures in vastly simplified models have been used successfully to design missions in the Earth-Moon system (starting with the Hiten mission), but the analytical tools employed there (invariant manifolds) do not generalize to more complex, realistic systems. Up to now, LCS in astrodynamics have only been applied to low-dimensional problems (up to 3), and often with varied results. Besides the difficulty of visualizing 6D space, there are several challenges in the computation of higher dimensional LCS. The computational effort grows exponentially with dimension, while the non-trivial derivatives required to obtain correct LCS in astrodynamics must be calculated to very high precision. These issues have been overcome in previous work on 3D LCS in the Earth-Mars system using a Differential Algebra based method. Further research will extend this analysis to the full 6D phase space.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 22, 2024
- Source ID
- FA86552317040
Entities
People
- Alexander Wittig
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Southampton