Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

Maneuver Design For Fast Satellite Circumnavigation, Stanley D. Straight

Theses and Dissertations

The feasibility of satellite operations in close proximity to a reference satellite is of interest for both civilian and military applications. One such operation is circular circumnavigation in a time period less than the orbital period of the reference satellite. This thesis investigates a guidance scheme for such maneuvers involving impulsive burns at specific points within a specified toroidal region centered on the circular-orbiting reference satellite. Two analytical methods for determining the magnitude and direction of the impulses are demonstrated. These methods are then used as initial estimates in an optimization scheme to produce the minimum total required impulse.