Mission design and trajectory analysis for inspection of a host spacecraft by a microsatellite

The trajectory analysis and mission design for inspection of a host spacecraft by a microsatellite is motivated by the current developments in designing and building prototypes of a microsatellite inspector vehicle. Two different, mission scenarios are covered in this thesis - a host spacecraft in orbit about Earth and in deep space. Some of the key factors that affect the design of an inspection mission are presented and discussed. For the Earth orbiting case, the range of available trajectories - natural and forced - is analyzed using the solution to the Clohessy-Wiltshire (CW) differential equations. Utilizing the natural dynamics for inspection minimizes fuel costs, while still providing excellent opportunities to inspect and image the surface of the host spacecraft. The accessible natural motions are compiled to form a toolset, which may be employed in planning an inspection mission. A baseline mission concept for a microsatellite inspector is presented in this thesis. The mission is composed of four primary modes: deployment mode, global inspection mode, point inspection mode, and disposal mode. Some figures of merit that may be used to rate the success of the inspection mission are also presented.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Kim, Susan C. (Susan Cecilia)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Stanley W. Shepperd and David W. Miller.

• Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/37566

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/37566