Solar Sail Halo Orbit Control using Reflectivity Control Devices

Flexible Models for Solar Sail Control

Solar sails employ a unique form of propulsion, gaining momentum from incident and reflected photons. However, the momentum transferred by an individual photon is extremely small. Consequently, a solar sail must have an extremely large surface area and also be extremely light. The flexibility of the sail then must be considered when designing or evaluating control laws. In this paper, solar sai...

Halo orbit mission correction maneuvers using optimal control

This paper addresses the computation of the required trajectory correction maneuvers for a halo orbit space mission to compensate for the launch velocity errors introduced by inaccuracies of the launch vehicle. By combining dynamical systems theory with optimal control techniques, we are able to provide a compelling portrait of the complex landscape of the trajectory design space. This approach...

Optical Control of Solar Sails using Distributed Reflectivity

Design and Simulation of Sailcraft Attitude Control Systems Using the Solar Sail Control Toolbox

A MATLAB-based software tool, called the Solar Sail Control Toolbox, has been developed for solar sail analysis, design and simulation. The toolbox includes functions for multibody dynamic modeling, attitude control systems design, thrust vector control design, orbit analysis, solar sail mission analysis, thermal analysis and power subsystem analysis. Sailcraft models can be created, analyzed a...

Symmetries in the Optimal Control of Solar Sail Spacecraft

The theory of optimal control is applied to obtain minimum-time trajectories for solar sail spacecraft for interplanetary missions. We consider the gravitational and solar radiation forces due to the Sun. The spacecraft is modelled as a flat sail of mass m and surface area A and is treated dynamically as a point mass. Coplanar circular orbits are assumed for the planets. We obtain optimal traje...