Ballistic design of spacecraft’s orbits using gravity-assist maneuvers in projects for studying the solar circumpolar regions from positions over ecliptic

Abstract

Conducting space scientific experiments to study the circumpolar regions of the Sun is impossible without ballistic design of orbits with a high inclination to the plane of the solar equator. In the domestic Interheliozond project, it is necessary to implement an orbital inclination of at least 30 degrees. Direct maneuvering of the spacecraft in order to increase the inclination to the plane of the solar equator requires high costs of characteristic speed. Minimizing the costs of constructing orbits with a high inclination can only be achieved using chains of gravity assist maneuvers for the planets of the Solar System, the methods and algorithms for constructing which are considered in this paper.