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Spacecraft insertion on unstable periodic orbits for formation flight applications
Author(s) -
Villac Benjamin F.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
pamm
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1617-7061
DOI - 10.1002/pamm.200700246
Subject(s) - spacecraft , aerospace engineering , libration (molecule) , physics , mechanism (biology) , periodic orbits , orbit (dynamics) , computer science , control theory (sociology) , classical mechanics , engineering , mathematics , geometry , point (geometry) , quantum mechanics , control (management) , artificial intelligence
Recent interest in formation flight near the libration points opens the question of precise spacecraft insertion along a nominal orbit. While current approaches emphasize the station‐keeping and (re)configuration of such formations, we propose a dynamical mechanism for spacecraft insertion and servicing in formation flight based on the concept of stable fibration. Practical considerations due to finite targeting accuracy are briefly considered via a numerical experiment. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)