A High-Fidelity Low-Thrust Spiral Optimization Capability Applied to Cislunar and Multi-Body Trajectory Design

This project develops GSFC’s capability to design optimized low-thrust spiral trajectories; spiraling is necessary to significantly change the orbit of a low-thrust spacecraft about a gravitational body. This capability will be demonstrated with several sample trajectory design problems that focus on applications in cislunar space and include multi-body orbits, e.g., a near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO). The proposed low-thrust spiral optimization tool offers reduced mass budgets obtained with fewer person-hours. Furthermore, this project provides a foundation upon which future missions can build and without which they will likely settle for more costly designs.

The ultimate goal of this IRAD is to increase GSFC capabilities in support of low-thrust missions with spiral maneuvers. Low-thrust spiral trajectories are a common component of many low-thrust missions and optimizing these trajectories to reduce propellant consumption or time of flight is challenging yet critical for these missions, particularly those that utilize ride-share opportunities. Development of a robust low-thrust spiral optimization capability will ensure NASA meets the growing technology needs. One such area that will benefit from the propellant and time savings offered by optimized spiral trajectories is missions at the Moon and beyond. For example, the low-thrust Gateway spacecraft and smaller spacecraft that interact with Gateway may require spiraling both to reach the nominal staging orbit, an NRHO, and to adjust their orbits about the Moon. Advanced low-thrust spiral optimization capabilities will facilitate trajectory design for this type of mission. Moreover, while the sample problems in this project focus on cislunar scenarios, the spiral optimization tool can be applied at any gravitational body in the solar system. Thus, this tool can support missions to Mars, other planetary systems, or even asteroids and comets. The need for a low-thrust spiral optimization capability is growing. Realizing mission opportunities at the Moon, Mars, and beyond will require the design of mass- and time-efficient low-thrust trajectories. This capability is not only required to support NASA priorities, but also to enable those of other government agencies and commercial partners. By leveraging existing resources and expertise available at GSFC, the investment required to develop the proposed capability can be relatively small, but the return on investment will be significant.

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