Near-comet trajectory design

Abstract

The Halley Flyby/Tempel 2 Rendezvous mission requires not only a new spacecraft design and a new propulsion system (the Solar Electric Propulsion System), but it also requires new approaches to the trajectory and the mission design. Because of the feebleness of Tempel 2 gravitation and because of the presence of various other competing forces, a realization and/or preservation of a spacecraft trajectory about the comet is characteristically different from that about a more massive body. This paper surveys, compares, and evaluates the significance of various forces acting on the spacecraft in the vicinity of the comet. The range of variations and uncertainties inherent in modeling of these forces are also discussed. Then, a number of different types of trajectories relevant to the design of the Tempel 2 exploration are depicted and examined. These include short-arc trajectories, near-comet short- and long-term orbits, and comet-landing trajectories.