Designing Low-Thrust Transfers to High-Inclination Science Orbits via Hybrid Optimization

Placing a small satellite into a high-inclination orbit with respect to the ecliptic plane may offer a low-cost option for opportunistic and targeted observations of the polar regions of the Sun or the zodiacal dust cloud of our solar system. In this paper, dynamical systems theory and hybrid optimization techniques are integrated into a cohesive framework to design low-thrust trajectories for a small satellite to reach a highly out-of-ecliptic science orbit near the Sun-Earth L2 equilibrium point. Propellant-optimal, low-thrust trajectories with a specific geometry are designed and studied across a variety of engine and power models within a low-thrust-enabled circular restricted three-body problem. The geometry of the trajectories is then varied during the initial guess construction process to support a preliminary study of the trade-off between flight time and propellant mass usage.

将小型卫星送入相对于黄道面的高倾角轨道，可为太阳极区或太阳系黄道尘埃云的机遇性与针对性观测提供低成本方案。本文将动力学系统理论与混合优化技术整合为统一框架，用于设计小型卫星抵达日地L2（Sun-Earth L2）平衡点附近的高黄道面外科学轨道所需的低推力轨道。在考虑低推力的圆型限制性三体问题框架下，针对多种发动机与功率模型，本文设计并研究了具备特定几何构型的推进剂最优低推力轨道。随后在初始猜测构建流程中调整轨道几何构型，以开展飞行时间与推进剂质量消耗间权衡关系的初步研究。