The Solar Scout: A Solar Sail Asteroid Prospector (original) (raw)
Solar Sail Trajectory Optimization for Intercepting, Impacting, and Deflecting Near-Earth Asteroids
AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference and Exhibit, 2005
A fictional asteroid mitigation problem posed by AIAA assumes that a 200 m near-Earth asteroid (NEA), detected on 04 July 2004 and designated as 2004 WR, will impact the Earth on 14 January 2015. Adopting this exemplary scenario, we show that solar sail spacecraft that impact the asteroid with very high velocity are a realistic near-term option for mitigating the impact threat from NEAs. The proposed mission requires several Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) solar sail spacecraft. Each sailcraft consists of a 160 m × 160 m, 168 kg solar sail and a 150 kg impactor. Because of their large ∆V-capability, solar sailcraft with a characteristic acceleration of 0.5 mm/s 2 can achieve an orbit that is retrograde to the target orbit within less than about 4.5 years. Prior to impacting 2004 WR at its perihelion of about 0.75 AU, each impactor is to be separated from its solar sail. With a relative impact velocity of about 81 km/s, each impactor will cause a conservatively estimated ∆v of about 0.35 cm/s in the trajectory of the target asteroid, largely due to the impulsive effect of material ejected from the newly formed crater. The deflection caused by a single impactor will increase the Earth-miss distance by about 0.7 Earth radii. Several sailcraft will therefore be required for consecutive impacts to increase the total Earthmiss distance to a safe value. In this paper, we elaborate a potential mission scenario and investigate trade-offs between different mission parameters, e.g. characteristic acceleration, sail temperature limit, hyperbolic excess energy for interplanetary insertion, and optical solar sail degradation.
JAXA’s Trojan Asteroids Mission: Trajectory Design of the Solar Power Sail and its Lander
2017
In this paper we use dynamical system tools to design trajectories in the vicinity of Trojan asteroids for both: JAXA’s solar power sail and its lander. The current JAXA baseline considers a solar power sail hovering a Trojan asteroid at 40 km from its surface. Which will then descend to 1 km of the surface to release the lander. First we will exploit solar radiation pressure to place a solar power sail in orbit around the asteroid and illustrate how the effects of changing the sail orientation can enhance the hovering opportunities. Second we will focus on the lander release, performing a sensitivity analysis on its deployment velocity together with possible bouncing trajectory. To model the dynamics of the solar power sail and the lander we use the augmented Hill three body problem for the far gravity field dynamics and a perturbed two-body problem approximating the asteroid’s as triaxial ellipsoid for the close gravity field dynamics.
SSC 13-VI-7 Asteroid Prospector
2013
This paper presents the overall design of a small reusable spacecraft capable of flying to an asteroid from low earth orbit, operating near the surface of the asteroid and returning samples to low earth orbit. The spacecraft is in a 6U CubeSat form factor and designed to visit near asteroids as far as 1.3 AU from the sun. Deep space missions are traditionally large and expensive, requiring considerable manpower for operations, use of the Deep Space network for navigation, and costly but slow rad-hard electronics. Several new technologies make this mission possible and affordable in such a small form factor: a 3 cm ion engine from Busek for the low-thrust spirals, an autonomous optical navigation system, precision miniature reaction wheels, high performance and nontoxic green propellant (HGPG) thrusters, and Honeywell’s new Dependable Multiprocessor technology for radiation tolerance. A complete spacecraft design is considered and the paper includes details of the control and guidanc...
2018
Physical interaction with small solar system bodies (SSSB) is key for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The design of mining missions requires good understanding of SSSB properties, including composition, surface and interior structure, and thermal environment. But as the saying goes "If you've seen one asteroid, you've seen one Asteroid": Although some patterns may begin to appear, a stable and reliable scheme of SSSB classification still has to be evolved. Identified commonalities would enable generic ISRU technology and spacecraft design approaches with a high degree of re-use. Strategic approaches require much broader in-depth characterization of the SSSB populations of interest to the ISRU community. The DLR-ESTEC GOSSAMER Roadmap Science Working Groups identified target-flexible Multiple Near-Earth asteroid (NEA) Rendezvous (MNR) as one of the missions only feasible with solar sail propulsion, showed the ability to access any inclination and a wide range o...
Missions to asteroids using solar electric propulsion
2002
Future interplanetary missions will use conventional rockets to leave the Earth's sphere of in uence, and solar electric propulsion to carry out deep-space maneuvers. Optimization of this kind of mission is the subject of the paper. Attention is mainly paid to a mission concept that exploits high speciÿc impulse and steering capabilities of electric propulsion to obtain a gravity assist from the Earth about a year after spacecraft departure. Missions to several near Earth objects are considered and their common features are highlighted. The analysis suggests useful criteria to deÿne the initial solution required to start the optimization process. Guidelines are also given to select, from the large number of near Earth bodies, the asteroids that may proÿtably be the targets of this class of trajectories. ?
Solar Sailing Kinetic Energy Interceptor (KEI) Mission for Impacting/Deflecting Near-Earth Asteroids
41st AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference & Exhibit, 2005
A solar sailing mission architecture, which requires a t least ten 160-m, 300-kg solar sail spacecraft with a characteristic acceleration of 0.5 mm/s2, is proposed as a realistic nearterm option for mitigating the threat posed by near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). Its mission feasibility is demonstrated for a fictional asteroid mitigation problem created by AIAA. This problem assumes that a 200-m asteroid, designated 2004WR, was detected on July 4, 2004, and that the expected impact will occur on January 14, 2015. The solar sailing phase of t h e proposed mission for t h e AIAA asteroid mitigation problem is comprised of the initial cruise phase from 1 AU t o 0.25 AU (1.5 years), the cranking orbit phase (3.5 years), and the retrograde orbit phase (1 year) prior to impacting the target asteroid a t its perihelion (0.75 AU from the sun) on January 1, 2012. The proposed mission will require a t least ten kinetic energy interceptor (KEI) solar sail spacecraft. Each KEI sailcraft consists of a 160m, 150-kg solar sail and a 150-kg microsatellite impactor. The impactor is t o be separated from a large solar sail prior t o impacting the 200-m target asteroid a t its perihelion. Each 150-kg microsatellite impactor, with a relative impact velocity of a t least 70 km/s, will cause a conservatively estimated AV of 0.3 cm/s in the trajectory of the 200-m target asteroid, due largely t o the impulsive effect of material ejected from the newly-formed crater. The deflection caused by a single impactor will increase the Earth-miss-distance by 0.45Re (where R e denotes the Earth radius of 6,378 km). Therefore, a t least ten KEI sailcraft will be required for consecutive impacts, but probably without causing fragmentation, t o increase the total Earth-miss-distance by 4.5Re. This miss-distance increase of 29,000 km is outside of a typical uncertainty/error of about 10,000 km in predicting t h e Earth-missdistance. A conventional Delta I1 2925 launch vehicle is capable of injecting a t least two KEI sailcraft into an Earth escaping orbit. A 40-m solar sail is currently being developed by NASA and industries for a possible flight validation experiment within 10 years, and a 160-m solar sail is expected t o be available within 20 years.
AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and Control Conference and Exhibit, 2005
As olar sailing mission is proposed as a realistic nearterm option for mitigating the threat posed by near-Earth asteroids (NEAs). Its mission feasibility is demonstrated for a fictional asteroid mitigation problem created by AIAA, which assumes that a 200-m asteroid, designated 2004WR, was detected on July 4, 2004 and that the expected impact will occur on January 14, 2015. The solar sailing phase of the proposed mission is comprised of the initial cruise phase from 1 AU to 0.25 AU (1.5 years), the cranking orbit phase (3.5 years), and the retrograde orbit phase (1 year) prior to impacting the target asteroid at its perihelion (0.75 AU from the sun) on January 1, 2012. The proposed mission will require at least ten kinetic energy interceptor (KEI) solar sail spacecraft. Each KEI sailcraft consists of a 160-m, 150-kg solar sail and a 150-kg microsatellite impactor. Each 150-kg microsatellite impactor, with a relative impact velocity of at least 70 km/s, will cause a conservatively estimated ∆V of 0.3 cm/s in the trajectory of the 200-m target asteroid. The deflection caused by a single impactor will increase the Earth-miss distance by 0.45R ⊕ ,w h e re R ⊕ is the Earth radius of 6,378 km.
Science opportunities with solar sailing smallsats
Planetary and Space Science, 2023
Recently, we witnessed how the synergy of small satellite technology and solar sailing propulsion enables new missions. Together, small satellites with lightweight instruments and solar sails offer affordable access to deep regions of the solar system, also making it possible to realize hard-to-reach trajectories that are not constrained to the ecliptic plane. Combining these two technologies can drastically reduce travel times within the solar system, while delivering robust science. With solar sailing propulsion capable of reaching the velocities of ∼5-10 AU/yr, missions using a rideshare launch may reach the Jovian system in two years, Saturn in three. The same technologies could allow reaching solar polar orbits in less than two years. Fast, cost-effective, and maneuverable sailcraft that may travel outside the ecliptic plane open new opportunities for affordable solar system exploration, with great promise for heliophysics, planetary science, and astrophysics. Such missions could be modularized to reach different destinations with different sets of instruments. Benefiting from this progress, we present the "Sundiver" concept, offering novel possibilities for the science community. We discuss some of the key technologies, the current design of the Sundiver sailcraft vehicle and innovative instruments, along with unique science opportunities that these technologies enable, especially as this exploration paradigm evolves. We formulate policy recommendations to allow national space agencies, industry, and other stakeholders to establish a strong scientific, programmatic, and commercial focus, enrich and deepen the space enterprise and broaden its advocacy base by including the Sundiver paradigm as a part of broader space exploration efforts.
2013
This paper presents the overall design of a small reusable spacecraft capable of ying to an asteroid from low earth orbit, operating near the surface of the asteroid and returning samples to low earth orbit. The spacecraft is in a 6U CubeSat form factor and designed to visit near asteroids as far as 1.3 AU from the sun. Deep space missions are traditionally large and expensive, requiring considerable manpower for operations, use of the Deep Space network for navigation, and costly but slow rad-hard electronics. Several new technologies make this mission possible and a_ordable in such a small form factor: a 3 cm ion engine from Busek for the low-thrust spirals, an autonomous optical navigation system, precision miniature reaction wheels, high performance and nontoxic green propellant (HGPG) thrusters, and Hon- eywell\u27s new Dependable Multiprocessor technology for radiation tolerance. A complete spacecraft design is considered and the paper includes details of the control and guida...