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Optimal Control Assignment: Spacecraft Maneuver

The document is an assignment from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, for the Optimal Control course, focusing on designing a continuous-thrust maneuver to transfer from Earth to Ceres. It includes a dynamical model of the spacecraft and requires students to plot control solutions, calculate net ∆v, and compare their design with Hohmann transfer. The assignment emphasizes the need for optimal control over large distances, with specific initial and target states provided.

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19 views2 pages

Optimal Control Assignment: Spacecraft Maneuver

The document is an assignment from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, for the Optimal Control course, focusing on designing a continuous-thrust maneuver to transfer from Earth to Ceres. It includes a dynamical model of the spacecraft and requires students to plot control solutions, calculate net ∆v, and compare their design with Hohmann transfer. The assignment emphasizes the need for optimal control over large distances, with specific initial and target states provided.

Uploaded by

lilyisuniversal
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.

Odd semester, 2021 - 2022.

Optimal Control

Assignment

(Deadline - ) Answer all questions Marks - 20

1. All planets, minor-planets and asteroids orbit the sun in the ecliptic plane in near-circular
orbits. Space missions from one to body’s orbit to another do a two-impulse, optimal maneuver
(Hohmann transfer) as shown in the figure. This, however, is inefficient when the two orbits
are separated by a large distance (as in the case of Earth and Ceres) due to the requirement of
very large impulses. To solve this, you will now design a continuous-thrust, fixed time, optimal
control to reach Ceres from Earth.
Second impulse

Ceres's orbit

Figure 1: The dotted lines correspond to the orbit ofqHohmann q transfer.  The first and
GMsun 2rC
second impulses for Hohmann transfer have ∆v1 = rE rE +rC
− 1 and ∆v2 =
q  q 
GMsun
rC
1 − rE2r+r
E
C
where rE and rC are the radii of Earth and Ceres respectively. Dashed
lines represent your design. Note that your design has continuous thrust and not impulses.
The dynamical model of the spacecraft is

ẋ = vx (1)

ẏ = vy (2)
GMsun x
v˙x = − + ax (t) (3)
r3
GMsun y
v˙y = − + ay (t) (4)
r3
where G and Msun are the universal gravitational constant (6.67 × 10−11 N m2 kg −2 ) and mass
of the sun (2 × 1030 kg) respectively. and
p
r = x2 + y 2 (5)

The initial states are x0 = 0, y0 = −1.5 × 108 km, vx0 = 30 kms−1 , vy0 = 0. The target states
xT = 0, yT = 4.15 × 108 km, vxT = −18 kms−1 , vyT = 0. The transfer time T is required be
473 Earth days.
(a) Plot the control solution (ax (t)and ay (t)) (10 marks)
(b) Calculate the net ∆v of your solution by time integrating the accelerations. (5 marks)
(c) Compare the orbit and performance with those of Hohmann transfer. (5 marks)
(Hint: Neglect the phasing and gravity of the planets. Choose 1 AU = 1.5×108 km as the unit
for distance and 1 day as the unit for time. You need to express also G in this unit system.)

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