Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-8bljj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-19T14:00:01.306Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Cislunar Navigation Constellation by Displaced Solar Sails

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2017

Xiao Pan  and
Ming Xu
Xiao Pan
Affiliation:
(School of Astronautics, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China)
Ming Xu*
Affiliation:
(School of Astronautics, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China)
*
(E-mail: xuming@buaa.edu.cn)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Increasing lunar exploration activities are giving rise to higher demands for a navigation constellation system in cislunar space. A novel constellation of solar sails around the Sun-Earth Artificial Lagrangian Points (ALPs) is proposed for cislunar navigation in this paper, which benefits from the numberless and out-of-plane advantages of ALPs compared with the classical Lagrangian points. To relieve the technical pressure on sail equipment, a two-layer optimisation strategy including the navigation constellation architecture and trajectory design is developed to reduce the desired lightness number of the sail's motion. The constellation architecture is constructed in the shape of a regular tetrahedron, whose size and orientation are derived from the realisable lightness number at the ALPs. The powerful Hamiltonian structure-preserving controller and differential evolution algorithm are adopted to propagate the bounded quasi-periodic trajectory with minimum lightness number variation. With the premise of the sail's high feasibility in the mechanism, the numerical navigation simulations for a typical trans-lunar weak stability boundary trajectory indicate that the proposed navigation constellation has a low geometric dilution of precision factor and a good navigation performance.

Keywords

Solar sailArtificial Lagrangian PointCislunar navigation constellationOptimisation
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Navigation , Volume 70 , Issue 5 , September 2017 , pp. 963 - 982
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Navigation 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aliasi, G., Mengali, G. and Quarta, A.A. (2015). Artificial Lagrange Points for Solar Sail with Electrochromic Material Panels. Journal of Guidance Control & Dynamics, 36(36), 1544–1550.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belbruno, E. (1987). Lunar Capture Orbits, a Method for Constructing Earth Moon Trajectories and the Lunar GAS Mission. AIAA/DGLR/JSASS International Electric Propulsion Conference, Colorado Springs, CO, USA.Google Scholar
Belbruno, E. (2004). Capture Dynamics and Chaotic Motions in Celestial Mechanics. Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bhasin, K. and Hayden, J. (2004). Developing Architectures and Technologies for an Evolvable NASA Space Communication Infrastructure. The 22nd AIAA International Communications Satellite Systems Conference and Exhibit. Monterey, CA, USA.Google Scholar
Carpenter, J.R., Folta, D.C., Moreau, M.C. and Gramling, C.J. (2004). Libration Point Navigation Concept Supporting the Vision for Space Exploration. AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference and Exhibition. Rhode Island.Google Scholar
Doong, S.H. (2009). A Closed-Form Formula for GPS GDOP Computation. GPS Solutions, 13(3), 183–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards-Stewart, C. (2013). NASA's GRAIL Spacecraft Formation Flight, End of Mission Results, and Small-Satellite Applications.Google Scholar
Farquhar, R.W. (1967). Lunar Communications with Libration-Point Satellites. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets, 4(10), 1383–1384.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fujimoto, K., Leonard, J.M., Mcgranaghan, R.M., Parker, S., Anderson, R.L. and Born, G.H. (2012). Simulating the Liaison Navigation Concept in a Geo+ Earth-Moon Halo Constellation. The 23rd International Symposium on Space Flight Dynamics (ISSFD), Pasadena, CA, USA.Google Scholar
Gao, Y.T., Xu, B. and Zhang, L. (2014). Feasibility Study of Autonomous Orbit Determination Using Only the Crosslink Range Measurement for a Combined Navigation Constellation. Chinese Journal of Aeronautics, 27(5), 1199–1210 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hill, K., Born, G.H. and Lo, M.W. (2005). Linked, Autonomous, Interplanetary Satellite Orbit Navigation (LiAISON) in Lunar Halo Orbits. AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Lake Tahoe, CA, USA.Google Scholar
Howell, K.C. (2001). Families of orbits in the vicinity of the collinear libration points. Journal of the Astronautical Sciences. 49(1), 107–125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, Y. and Zheng, H. (2014) Mechanical characteristics of a lunar regolith simulant at low confining pressure. Environmental Earth Sciences. 71(8), 3697–3703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koon, W.S., Lo, M.W., Marsden, J.E. and Ross, S.D. (2000). Dynamical systems, the three-body problem and space mission design, International conference on differential equations. 1167–1181.Google Scholar
Koon, W.S., Lo, M.W., Marsden, J.E. and Ross, S.D. (2001). Low Energy Transfer to the Moon. Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy, 81(1), 63–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leonard, J.M., Parker, J.S., Anderson, R.L., McGranaghan, R.M., Fujimoto, K. and Born, G.H. (2013). Supporting Crewed Lunar Exploration with LiAISON Navigation. 36th Annual Guidance and Control Conference, Breckenridge, Colorado.Google Scholar
Montenbruck, O. and Gill, E. (2000). Satellite Orbits: Models, Methods, and Applications. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg, Germany.Google Scholar
Parker, J., Anderson, R., Born, G., Fujimoto, K., Leonard, J. and McGranaghan, R. (2012). Navigation Between Geosynchronous and Lunar L1 Orbiters. AIAA/AAS Astrodynamics Specialist Conference, Guidance, Navigation, and Control and Co-located Conferences, Minneapolis, Minnesota.Google Scholar
Parker, J.S., Leonard, J. M., Fujimoto, K., McGranaghan, R.M., Born, G.H. and Anderson, R.L. (2013). Navigating a Crewed Lunar Vehicle Using LiAISON. 23rd AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting, Kauai, Hawaii.Google Scholar
Peng, H. and Xu, S.J. (2015) Low-energy transfers to a Lunar multi-revolution elliptic halo orbit[J]. Astrophysics and Space Science. 357(1), 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prussing, J.E. (1992). Simple proof of the global optimality of the Hohmann transfer. Journal of Guidance Control & Dynamics, 15(4), 1037–1038.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qin, A.K., Huang, V.L. and Suganthan, P.N. (2009). Differential evolution algorithm with strategy adaptation for global numerical optimization. IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation. 13(2), 398–417.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Space Communication Architecture Working Group (SCAWG). (2006). NASA Space Communication and Navigation Architecture Recommendations for 2005–2030.Google Scholar
Showstack, R. (2012). Russia sets sights on lunar base. EOS Transactions American Geophysical Union. 93(23), 219-219.Google Scholar
Xu, S. and Xu, M. (2006). A New Constellation Configuration Scheme for Communicating Architecture in Cislunar Space. The 57th International Astronautical Congress. Valencia, Spain.Google Scholar
Xu, M. and Xu, S.J. (2009). Structure-preserving stabilization for hamiltonian system and its applications in solar sail. Journal of Guidance Control & Dynamics. 32(3), 997–1004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, Y.X., Li, J.Z., Xu, J.Y. and Tang, J. (2011). Generalised DOPs with Consideration of the Influence Function of Signal-in-Space Errors. Journal of Navigation, 64 (S1), 227–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zeng, H. and Zhang, J.R. (2016). Design of impulsive Earth-Moon Halo transfers: lunar proximity and direct options. Astrophysics & Space Science. 361(10), 328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, L. and Xu, B. (2014). A Universe Light House-Candidate Architectures of the Libration Point Satellite Navigation System. Journal of Navigation, 67(5), 737–752.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, L. and Xu, B. (2015). Navigation Performance of the Libration Point Satellite Navigation System in Cislunar Space. Journal of Navigation, 68(2), 367–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhang, J.R., Zhao, S.G. and Zhang, Y. (2015). Autonomous Guidance for Rendezvous Phasing Based on Special-Point-Based Maneuvers. Journal of Guidance Control & Dynamics. 38(4), 578–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhao, S.G., Gurfil, P. and Zhang, J.R. (2016) Initial Costates for Low-Thrust Minimum-Time Station Change of Geostationary Satellites. AIAA Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics. 39, 2746–2755.Google Scholar