Date of Graduation

2015

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Department

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Committee Chair

Alfred E Lynam

Committee Co-Chair

John A Christian

Committee Member

Jason N Gross

Committee Member

Alfred E Lynam

Abstract

Use of a triple-satellite-aided capture maneuver to enter Jovian orbit reduces insertion DeltaV and provides close flyby science opportunities at three of Jupiter's four large Galilean moons. This capture can be performed while maintaining appropriate Jupiter standoff distance and setting up a suitable apojove for plotting an extended tour.;This paper has three main chapters, the first of which discusses the design and optimization of a triple-flyby capture trajectory. A novel triple-satellite-aided capture uses sequential flybys of Callisto, Io, and Ganymede to reduce the DeltaV required to capture into orbit about Jupiter. An optimal broken-plane maneuver is added between Earth and Jupiter to form a complete chemical/impulsive interplanetary trajectory from Earth to Jupiter. Such a trajectory can yield significant fuel savings over single and double-flyby capture schemes while maintaining a brief and simple interplanetary transfer phase.;The second chapter focuses on the guidance and navigation of such trajectories in the presence of spacecraft navigation errors, ephemeris errors, and maneuver execution errors. A powered-flyby trajectory correction maneuver (TCM) is added to the nominal trajectory at Callisto and the nominal Jupiter orbit insertion (JOI) maneuver is modified to both complete the capture and target the Ganymede flyby. A third TCM is employed after all the flybys to act as a JOI cleanup maneuver. A Monte Carlo simulation shows that the statistical DeltaV required to correct the trajectory is quite manageable and the flyby characteristics are very consistent. The developed methods maintain flexibility for adaptation to similar launch, cruise, and capture conditions.;The third chapter details the methodology and results behind a completely separate project to design and optimize an Earth-orbiting three satellite constellation to perform very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) as part of the 8th annual Global Trajectory Optimisation Competition (GTOC8). A script is designed to simulate the prescribed constellation and record its observations; the observations made are scored according to a provided performance index.

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