Studying the errors in the estimation of the variation of energy by the “patched-conics” model in the three-dimensional swing-by

The swing-by maneuver is a technique used to change the energy of a spacecraft by using a close approach in a celestial body. This procedure was used many times in real missions. Usually, the first approach to design this type of mission is based on the “patched-conics” model, which splits the maneu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Celestial mechanics and dynamical astronomy 2017-11, Vol.129 (3), p.269-284
Main Authors: Negri, Rodolfo Batista, Prado, Antonio Fernando Bertachini de Almeida, Sukhanov, Alexander
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aerospace Technology and Astronautics
Astrophysics and Astroparticles
Celestial bodies
Classical Mechanics
Conics
Dynamical Systems and Ergodic Theory
Energy
Errors
Estimating techniques
Geophysics/Geodesy
Missions
Original Article
Physics
Physics and Astronomy
Solar system
Spacecraft
Three body problem
Three dimensional models
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Summary:The swing-by maneuver is a technique used to change the energy of a spacecraft by using a close approach in a celestial body. This procedure was used many times in real missions. Usually, the first approach to design this type of mission is based on the “patched-conics” model, which splits the maneuver into three “two-body dynamics.” This approach causes an error in the estimation of the energy variations, which depends on the geometry of the maneuver and the system of primaries considered. Therefore, the goal of the present paper is to study the errors caused by this approximation. The comparison of the results are made with the trajectories obtained using the more realistic restricted three-body problem, assumed here to be the “real values” for the maneuver. The results shown here describe the effects of each parameter involved in the swing-by. Some examples using bodies in the solar system are used in this part of the paper. The study is then generalized to cover different mass parameters, and its influence is analyzed to give an idea of the amount of the error expected for a given system of primaries. The results presented here may help in estimating errors in the preliminary mission analysis using the “patched-conics” approach.
ISSN:0923-2958
1572-9478
DOI:10.1007/s10569-017-9779-3