Intermediate-thrust arcs and their optimality in a central, time-invariant force field
This paper presents the general equations of the intermediate-thrust arcs in a general, time-invariant, central force field. Two families of planar arcs, namely, the family of Lawden's spirals in the equatorial plane of an oblate planet and the family of intermediate-thrust arcs in a gravitatio...
Guardado en:
| Autores principales: | , |
|---|---|
| Formato: | Articulo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
1973
|
| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/123097 |
| Aporte de: |
| Sumario: | This paper presents the general equations of the intermediate-thrust arcs in a general, time-invariant, central force field. Two families of planar arcs, namely, the family of Lawden's spirals in the equatorial plane of an oblate planet and the family of intermediate-thrust arcs in a gravitational field of the form μ/r<sup>n</sup>, have been considered in detail. The Kelley-Contensou condition has been used to test their optimality condition. It is shown that, in the first case, there exist portions of the arcs at a finite distance satisfying the condition, while, in the second case, the entire family satisfies the condition for n ≥ 3. Hence, in a perturbed Newtonian gravitational force field, the intermediate-thrust arcs, under certain favorable conditions, can be part of an optimal trajectory. |
|---|