Effects of Bank Angle During Powered Aerogravity-Assist Maneuver

Abstract

In a swing-by maneuver, the variation of energy of the spacecraft is controlled by the angle, velocity, and distance of approach. These parameters are defined by the incoming trajectory, when the spacecraft is far from the planetary atmosphere. The passage of the spacecraft by the atmosphere generates aerodynamic forces, affecting its trajectory and giving new forms of control, which are functions of the attitude of the spacecraft. This maneuver is called aerogravity-assist maneuver. This control can change the direction and magnitude of aerodynamic forces. Previous results showed the influence of the lift-to-drag ratio and the effects of the application of impulses in this maneuver. However, the variations of energy due to the control that can be given by the bank angle have not been studied before, and this study constitutes the main new aspect of the present paper. In this research, it is implemented the classical methodology to calculate the variations of energy to analyze the effects of the bank angle in aerogravity-assist maneuvers. This analysis can identify regions of collisions and the variations of energy as a function of the bank angle, giving new alternatives to this maneuver that are not available in the literature.

Using low Lift-to-Drag spacecraft to perform upper atmospheric Aero-Gravity Assisted Maneuvers

“…The PAGAM combines the advantages of using Lift to increase the effects of the GAM and the implementation of propulsive forces to reduce the losses due to Drag, or to maintain the spacecraft altitude in the atmospheric flight, searching to increase the curvature angle (Mazzaracchio, 2015;Qi and Ruiter 2021). There are few references from the scientific literature which explored these maneuvers, as presented by: Lewis and McRonald, (1991); Murcia and Prado (2021);Prado, (1996); Prado and Broucke, (1995).…”

A manobra assistida por gravidade abrindo as portas para o sistema solar exterior

“…Estudos mais recentes consideram o efeito de outras forças, como aplicação de propulsão combinada com a passagem próxima [16,17]; presença de uma atmosfera no corpo mais próximo [18]; uso de cabos espaciais para aumentar o efeito da manobra [19]; presença de mais corpos no sistema dinâmico [20]; etc. Todas as aplicações citadas acima estão no campo da Astronáutica, sendo que todas elas são muito recentes se comparadas à literatura no campo da Astronomia.…”