Orbital plane change maneuver strategy using electric propulsion

Abstract

The orbital dynamics basis for orbital plane change maneuver using chemical propulsion is the impulsive orbital change theory in practical engineering. The orbital plane change theory using continuous thrust suitable for electric propulsion is studied in this paper. A set of nonsingular orbital variational equations using quaternion is used to investigate the orbital motion of spacecraft under constant normal acceleration departing from a Keplerian circular orbit firstly. Results show that the orbit of spacecraft under continuous constant normal acceleration is a circular orbit over the gravitational center on the same spherical surface as the initial orbit, and it is tangent to the initial circular orbit at the initial position. Continuous and discontinuous maneuver strategies are then designed using the previous theory, and they are validated by numerical simulations. Results indicate that the strategy can work effectively.