A Novel Model for the Optimization of Interplanetary Trajectory Using Evolutionary Algorithm

A novel model, called evolutionary patched model, based on the patched conic approximation is applied to the optimization of space missions with engineering constraints in this paper. The interplanetary trajectory consists of geocentric escape orbit, heliocentric transfer orbit and target capture orbit. The model, firstly, gets the escape orbit and capture orbit by optimizing the elements of orbits with evolutionary algorithm, and then calculate the heliocentric transfer orbit by solving the Lambert’s problem, which is just opposite to the procedure of patched conic method. A module based on orthogonal test is introduced in the initialization process to produce a good starting population for the evolutionary algorithm. Earth-Mars mission has been considered. The results show that the good performance obtained with this mode and the improvement in terms of efficiency and computational cost.