Asteroids, which may be very small in comparison with the other celestial bodies of the universe, may hold valuable information about the formation of our solar system. In specific, a class of these asteroids called the NEAs has received more attention in recent years. For scientific and planetary protection reasons, extensive databases were created to map these bodies. Moreover, these celestial bodies are also seen as possible targets for future asteroid mining missions to extract materials that are scarce on Earth. 2001 SN263 is one of the three known triple systems in the NEAs family, and it is composed of a main asteroid Alpha (r_alpha = 1.3 km), and two smaller asteroids, Beta (r_beta = 0.39 km) and Gamma (r_gamma = 0.29 km), orbiting around the main body. The INPE, the main institution for space studies in Brazil, together with other universities in the country, had shown interest in this system with the proposal of the first deep space mission of the AEB, the Aster mission. In this work, orbits to study the different bodies of this triple system were analyzed with a variation of the area of the spacecraft, from 10 m^2 to 500 m^2 for a spacecraft of 150 kg, to study the effect of the SRP, one of the main dynamical perturbances, on the stability of the orbits. The search is done when the asteroid system is at the apocenter and pericenter of its orbits, to represent the best and worst-case scenarios. Following a sequential exploration in which the spacecraft arrives at a parking orbit around the triple system and then maneuvers to orbits to study the single bodies, three classes of orbits were analyzed: an arrival orbit around the system, an orbit centered in Alpha, and an orbit centered in Beta. Orbits centered in Gamma are found to be unfeasible due to the very low mass of the asteroid and the high magnitude of the disturbance forces. Feasible orbits were found when 2001 SN263 was at the apocenter for values of 10 m^2 and 50 m^2 and at the pericenter for just the configuration of 10 m^2. Orbits around Alpha and Beta are found for all different area values at both the apocenter and pericenter. To perform the sequential exploration of the system, impulsive maneuvers were considered. The most efficient strategy, in terms of delta V, is to go from the parking orbit to an orbit around Beta and finally to an orbit around Alpha with a total cost of 1.854 m/s at the apocenter and 1.865 m/s at the pericenter. Lastly, thanks to the increasing technological advantages of solar sail technology, interplanetary trajectories with different solar sail areas are time-optimized using a preliminary approximation of circular orbits. Promising results are found for characteristic accelerations of the sail of 0.0608 mm/s^2, 0.1216 mm/s^2 and 0.2432 mm/s^2 that were found to have a transfer time of 21.893 years, 11.028 and 5.646 years, respectively. From the results obtained, cycler trajectories with stopovers at Earth and 2001 SN263 are built to permit repeatability of the transfer.
Gli asteroidi, relativamente molto piccoli rispetto agli altri corpi celesti dell'universo, potrebbero contenere informazioni preziose sulla formazione del nostro sistema solare. In particolare, una classe di questi asteroidi chiamati NEAs ha ricevuto maggiore attenzione negli ultimi anni. Per motivi scientifici e di protezione planetaria, sono stati creati database estesi per mappare questi corpi. Allo stesso tempo, questi corpi celesti sono considerati possibili obiettivi per future missioni di estrazione mineraria al fine di ottenere materiali scarsamente presenti sulla Terra. 2001 SN263 è uno dei tre noti sistemi tripli tra i NEAs ed è composto da un asteroide principale Alpha (r_alpha = 1,3 km) e due asteroidi minori, Beta (r_beta = 0,39 km) e Gamma (r_gamma = 0,29 km), che orbitano attorno al corpo principale. L'INPE, la principale istituzione per gli studi spaziali del Brasile, insieme ad altre università del paese, ha mostrato interesse per questo sistema con la proposta della prima missione nello spazio profondo dell'AEB, la missione Aster. In questo lavoro, sono state analizzate orbite per studiare i diversi corpi di questo sistema triplo con una variazione dell'area del veicolo spaziale, da 10 m^2 a 500 m^2 considerando una massa di 150 kg, al fine di studiare l'effetto della SRP, una delle principali perturbazioni dinamiche, sulla stabilità delle orbite. La ricerca è stata effettuata quando il sistema di asteroidi si trova all'apocentro e al pericentro della sua orbite, per rappresentare sia il caso migliore che il caso peggiore. Seguendo una esplorazione sequenziale in cui il veicolo spaziale raggiunge un'orbita di parcheggio attorno al sistema triplo e quindi manovra verso orbite per studiare i singoli corpi, sono state analizzate tre classi di orbite: un'orbita di arrivo attorno al sistema, un'orbita centrata su Alpha e un'orbita centrata su Beta. Orbite centrate su Gamma si sono rivelate impraticabili a causa della massa molto bassa dell'asteroide e dell'alta magnitudine delle forze perturbatrici. Orbite praticabili sono state trovate quando il 2001 SN263 si trova all'apocentro per valori di 10 m^2 e 50 m^2 e al pericentro solo per la configurazione di 10 m^2. Orbite attorno ad Alpha e Beta sono state trovate per i diversi valori di area sia all'apocentro che al pericentro. Per eseguire l'esplorazione sequenziale del sistema, sono state prese in considerazione manovre impulsive. La strategia più efficiente, in termini di delta V, è passare dall'orbita di parcheggio a un'orbita attorno a Beta e infine a un'orbita attorno ad Alpha con un costo totale di 1,854 m/s all'apocentro e 1,865 m/s al pericentro. Infine, grazie ai crescenti sviluppi tecnologici delle vele solari, sono state ottimizzate, in funzione del tempo di trasferimento, traiettorie interplanetarie con diverse aree di vela solare utilizzando un'approssimazione preliminare di orbite circolari. Sono stati ottenuti risultati promettenti per accelerazioni caratteristiche della vela di 0,608 mm/s^2, 0,1216 mm/s^2 e 0,2432 mm/s^2, che si sono rivelate avere un tempo di trasferimento di 21,893 anni, 11,028 e 5,646 anni rispettivamente. Dai risultati ottenuti, sono state create traiettorie cicliche con tappe presso la Terra e il 2001 SN263 per permettere la ripetibilità del trasferimento.
Study of the 2001 SN263 triple asteroid system: investigating sequential exploration and interplanetary solar sail transfer
Battaglia, Daniele
2022/2023
Abstract
Asteroids, which may be very small in comparison with the other celestial bodies of the universe, may hold valuable information about the formation of our solar system. In specific, a class of these asteroids called the NEAs has received more attention in recent years. For scientific and planetary protection reasons, extensive databases were created to map these bodies. Moreover, these celestial bodies are also seen as possible targets for future asteroid mining missions to extract materials that are scarce on Earth. 2001 SN263 is one of the three known triple systems in the NEAs family, and it is composed of a main asteroid Alpha (r_alpha = 1.3 km), and two smaller asteroids, Beta (r_beta = 0.39 km) and Gamma (r_gamma = 0.29 km), orbiting around the main body. The INPE, the main institution for space studies in Brazil, together with other universities in the country, had shown interest in this system with the proposal of the first deep space mission of the AEB, the Aster mission. In this work, orbits to study the different bodies of this triple system were analyzed with a variation of the area of the spacecraft, from 10 m^2 to 500 m^2 for a spacecraft of 150 kg, to study the effect of the SRP, one of the main dynamical perturbances, on the stability of the orbits. The search is done when the asteroid system is at the apocenter and pericenter of its orbits, to represent the best and worst-case scenarios. Following a sequential exploration in which the spacecraft arrives at a parking orbit around the triple system and then maneuvers to orbits to study the single bodies, three classes of orbits were analyzed: an arrival orbit around the system, an orbit centered in Alpha, and an orbit centered in Beta. Orbits centered in Gamma are found to be unfeasible due to the very low mass of the asteroid and the high magnitude of the disturbance forces. Feasible orbits were found when 2001 SN263 was at the apocenter for values of 10 m^2 and 50 m^2 and at the pericenter for just the configuration of 10 m^2. Orbits around Alpha and Beta are found for all different area values at both the apocenter and pericenter. To perform the sequential exploration of the system, impulsive maneuvers were considered. The most efficient strategy, in terms of delta V, is to go from the parking orbit to an orbit around Beta and finally to an orbit around Alpha with a total cost of 1.854 m/s at the apocenter and 1.865 m/s at the pericenter. Lastly, thanks to the increasing technological advantages of solar sail technology, interplanetary trajectories with different solar sail areas are time-optimized using a preliminary approximation of circular orbits. Promising results are found for characteristic accelerations of the sail of 0.0608 mm/s^2, 0.1216 mm/s^2 and 0.2432 mm/s^2 that were found to have a transfer time of 21.893 years, 11.028 and 5.646 years, respectively. From the results obtained, cycler trajectories with stopovers at Earth and 2001 SN263 are built to permit repeatability of the transfer.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/217938