The elements of a general high precision system for trajectory design and optimization for single or multiple spacecraft using one or more distinct propulsion systems, and operating in any gravitational environment within the solar system are discussed. The system architecture attempts to consolidate most all spacecraft trajectory design and optimization problems by using a single framework tha...

Electric propulsion has recently become a viable technology for spacecraft, enabling shorter flight times, fewer required planetary gravity assists, larger payload masses, and/or smaller launch vehicles. With the maturation of this technology, however, comes a new set of challenges in the area of trajectory design. In 2006, the 2 Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC2) posed a diffic...

In 2006, the 2 Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC2) posed a “Grand Asteroid Tour” trajectory optimization problem, where participants were required to find the best possible low-thrust trajectory that would rendezvous with one asteroid from each of four defined groups. As a first step, most teams employed some form of design space pruning, in order to reduce the overall number of ...

In this letter, we present a novel approach to efficiently generate collision-free optimal trajectories for multiple non-holonomic mobile robots in obstacle-rich environments. Our first employs graph-based multi-agent path planner find an initial discrete solution, and then refines solution into smooth using nonlinear optimization. We divide the robot team small groups propose prioritized traje...

In this article, we introduce a novel three-step approach for solving optimal control problems in space mission design. We demonstrate its potential by the example task of sending a group of spacecraft to a specific Earth L2 Halo orbit. In each of the three steps we make use of recently developed optimization methods and the result of one step serves as input data for the subsequent one. Firstl...

The deterministic problem for finding an aircraft’s optimal risk trajectory in a threat environment has been formulated. The threat is associated with the risk of aircraft detection by radars or similar sensors. The model considers an aircraft’s trajectory in three-dimensional (3-D) space and represents the aircraft by a symmetrical ellipsoid with the axis of symmetry directing the trajectory. ...

We discuss trajectory optimization for hybrid systems with a natural, hierarchical separation of discrete and continuous dynamics. The trajectory optimization problem considered requires that a discrete state sequence and a continuous state trajectory must be both determined to minimize a single cost function, such that the discrete state sequence also solves a symbolic planning problem. We mod...

Whether a robot is assisting a person to move about the home, or packing containers in a warehouse, the fundamental promise of robotics centers on the ability to productively interact with a complex and changing environment in a safe and controlled fashion. However, current robots are largely limited to basic tasks in structured environments-operating slowly and cautiously, afraid of any incide...

This paper deals with the optimization of the observer trajectory for target motion analysis. The observations are made of estimated bearings. The problem consists in determining the sequence of controls (e.g. the observer headings) which maximizes a cost functional. This cost functional is generally a functional of the FIM matrix associated with the estimation of the source trajectory paramete...

The problem of planning a safe trajectory for a free-flying robot to approach an uncontrolled spinning satellite is addressed. First, a heuristic plan is presented for a simple planar case, which constructs a collision-free path within realistic system constraints. Second, a general numerical optimization technique for planning a safe spatial trajectory is presented. In it, the approach path is...