Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / A Halo orbit about a libration point of a restricted three-body system provides additional opportunities for surveillance, communication, and exploratory missions in lieu of the classical spacecraft orbit. Historically libration point missions have focused on Halo orbits and trajectories about the Sun-Earth System. This thesis will focus on libration point orbit solutions in the Earth-Moon system using the restricted three body equations of motion with three low-thrust control functions. These classical dynamics are used to design and optimize orbital trajectories about stable and unstable libration points of the Earth-Moon system using DIDO, a dynamic optimization software. The solutions for the optimized performance are based on a quadratic cost function. Specific constraints and bounds were placed on the potential solution set in order to ensure correct target trajectories. This approach revealed locally optimal solutions for orbits about a stable and unstable libration point. / Lieutenant, United States Navy

In the context of future human space exploration missions in the solar system (with an horizon of 2025) and according to the roadmap proposed by ISECG (International Space Exploration Coordination Group) [1], a new step could be to maintain as an outpost, at one of the libration points of the Earth-Moon system, a space station. This would ease access to far destinations as Moon, Mars and asteroids and would allow testing some innovative technologies, before employing them for far distant human missions. One of the main challenges will be to maintain permanently, and ensure on board crew health thanks to an autonomous space medical center docked to the proposed space station, as a Space haven. Then the main problem to solve is to manage the station servitude, during deployment (modules integration) and operational phase. Challenges lie, on a global point of view, in the design of the operational scenarios and, on a local point of view, in trajectories selection, so as to minimize velocity increments (energy consumption) and transportation duration (crew safety). Which recommendations could be found out as far as trajectories optimization is concerned, that would fulfill energy consumption, transportation duration and safety criterion? What would technological hurdles be to rise for the building of such Space haven? What would be performances to aim at for critical sub-systems? Expected results of this study could point out research and development perspectives for human spaceflight missions and above all, in transportation field for long lasting missions. Thus, the thesis project, presented here, aims starting from global system life-cycle decomposition, to identify by phase operational scenario and optimize resupply vehicle mission. The main steps of this project consist of: - Bibliographical survey, that covers all involved disciplines like mission analysis (Astrodynamics, Orbital mechanics, Orbitography, N-Body Problem, Rendezvous…), Applied Mathematics, Optimization, Systems Engineering…. - Entire system life-cycle analysis, so as to establish the entire set of scenarios for deployment and operations (nominal cases, degraded cases, contingencies…) and for all trajectories legs (Low Earth Orbit, Transfer, Rendezvous, re-entry…) - Trade-off analysis for Space Station architecture - Modeling of the mission legs trajectories - Trajectories optimization Three main scenarios have been selected from the results of the preliminary design of the Space Station, named THOR: the Space Station deployment, the resupply cargo missions and the crew transportation. The deep analysis of those three main steps pointed out the criticality of the rendezvous strategies in the vicinity of Lagrangian points. A special effort has been set on those approach maneuvers. The optimization of those rendezvous trajectories led to consolidate performances (in term of energy and duration) of the global transfer from the Earth to the Lagrangian point neighborhood and return. Finally, recommendations have been deduced that support the Lagrangian points importance for next steps of Human Spaceflight exploration of the Solar system.

<p>A dynamical understanding of orbits in the Earth-Moon neighborhood that can sustain long-term activities and trajectories that link locations of interest forms a critical foundation for the creation of infrastructure to support a lasting presence in this region of space. In response, this investigation aims to identify and exploit fundamental dynamical motion in the vicinity of a candidate ‘hub’ orbit, the L2 southern 9:2 lunar synodic resonant near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO), while incorporating realistic mission constraints. The strategies developed in this investigation are, however, not restricted to this particular orbit but are, in fact, applicable to a wide variety of stable and nearly-stable cislunar orbits. Since stable and nearly-stable orbits that may lack useful manifold structures are of interest for long-term activities in cislunar space due to low orbit maintenance costs, strategies to alternatively initiate transfer design into and out of these orbits are necessary. Additionally, it is crucial to understand the complex behaviors in the neighborhood of any candidate hub orbit. In this investigation, a bifurcation analysis is used to identify periodic orbit families in close proximity to the hub orbit that may possess members with favorable stability properties, i.e., unstable orbits. Stability properties are quantified using a metric defined as the stability index. Broucke stability diagrams, a tool in which the eigenvalues of the monodromy matrix are recast into two simple parameters, are used to identify bifurcations along orbit families. Continuation algorithms, in combination with a differential corrections scheme, are used to compute new families of periodic orbits originating at bifurcations. These families possess unstable members with associated invariant manifolds that are indeed useful for trajectory design. Members of the families nearby the L2 NRHOs are demonstrated to persist in a higher-fidelity ephemeris model. </p><p><br></p> <p>Transfers based on the identified nearby dynamical structures and their associated manifolds are designed. To formulate initial guesses for transfer trajectories, a Poincaré mapping technique is used. Various sample trajectory designs are produced in this investigation to demonstrate the wide applicability of the design methodology. Initially, designs are based in the circular restricted three-body problem, however, geometries are demonstrated to persist in a higher-fidelity ephemeris model, as well. A strategy to avoid Earth and Moon eclipse conditions along many-revolution quasi-periodic ephemeris orbits and transfer trajectories is proposed in response to upcoming mission needs. Lunar synodic resonance, in combination with careful epoch selection, produces a simple eclipse-avoidance technique. Additionally, an integral-type eclipse avoidance path constraint is derived and incorporated into a differential corrections scheme as well. Finally, transfer trajectories in the circular restricted three-body problem and higher-fidelity ephemeris model are optimized and the geometry is shown to persist.</p>

An integral part of NASA's vision for the coming years is a sustained infrastructure in cislunar space. The current baseline trajectory for this facility is a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO), a periodic orbit in the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem. One of the goals of the facility is to serve as a proving ground for human spaceflight operations in deep space. Thus, this investigation focuses on transfers between the baseline NRHO and a family of periodic orbits that originate from a period-doubling bifurcation along the halo family. This new family of orbits has been termed the ``butterfly" family. This investigation also provides an overview of the evolution for a large subset of the butterfly family. Transfers to multiple subsets of the family are found by leveraging different design strategies and techniques from dynamical systems theory. The different design strategies are discussed in detail, and the transfers to each of these regions are compared in terms of propellant costs and times of flight.

A newly proposed F-class mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2019,Comet Interceptor, aims to dynamically intercept a New Solar System Objectsuch as a Dynamically New Comet (DNC). The Spacecraft will be placed in aperiodic (Halo) orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 Lagrangian point, waiting for furtherinstructions about the passage of a comet or an asteroid, which could well bereached within the stipulated mission constraints.A major part of the detection of these bodies will be owed to the Large SynopticSurvey Telescope (Currently under construction in Chile), which hopes to vastlyincrease the ability to discover a possible target using the catalogue of LongPeriod Comets and a set of its orbits. It is suggested that, in a mission length of&lt;5 years, discoveries and warnings are possible so that optimization of thetrajectory and characterisation of the object are done within the set windows.This thesis is aimed at facilitating a transfer to a Potentially Hazardous Asteroid(PHA), a subset of the Near-Earth Objects (NEO), as a secondary choice on theoff-chance that the discovered comet could not be reached from the L2 Librationpoint within the mission constraints.The first section of this thesis deals with the selection of a Potentially HazardousAsteroid for our mission from the larger database of the Near-Earth Objects,based on a measure of impact hazard called the Palermo Scale, while the secondsection of the thesis aims to obtain a suitable Halo orbit around L2 through ananalytical construction method. After a desired orbit is found, the invariantmanifolds around the Halo orbit are constructed and analysed in an attempt toreduce the ΔV, where from the spacecraft can intercept the Potentially Hazardous Asteroid through the trajectory demanding the least energy.

<p dir="ltr">The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) is heavily relied on for the navigation of Earth satellites. For satellites in cislunar space and beyond, GNSS is not readily available. As a result, other sources such as NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) must be relied on for navigation. However, DSN is overburdened and can only support a small number of satellites at a time. Furthermore, communication with external sources can become interrupted or deprived in these environments. Given NASA's current efforts towards cislunar space operations and the expected increase in cislunar satellite traffic, there will be a need for more autonomous navigation options in cislunar space and beyond.</p><p dir="ltr">In this thesis, a navigation system capable of accurate and computationally efficient orbit determination in these communication-deprived environments is proposed and investigated. The emphasis on computational efficiency is in support of cubesats which are constrained in size, cost, and mass; this makes navigation even more challenging when resources such as GNSS signals or ground station tracking become unavailable.</p><p dir="ltr">The proposed navigation system, which is called GRAVNAV in this thesis, involves a two-satellite formation orbiting a planet. The primary satellite hosts an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and is capable of measuring the relative position of the secondary satellite; accurate attitude estimates are also available to the primary satellite. The relative position measurements allow the EKF to estimate the absolute position and velocity of both satellites. In this thesis, the proposed navigation system is investigated in the two-body and three-body problems.</p><p dir="ltr">The two-body analysis illuminates the effect of the gravity model error on orbit determination performance. High-fidelity gravity models can be computationally expensive for cubesats; however, celestial bodies such as the Earth and Moon have non-uniform and highly-irregular gravity fields that require complex models to describe the motion of satellites orbiting in their gravity field. Initial results show that when a second-order zonal harmonic gravity model is used, the orbit determination accuracy is poor at low altitudes due to large gravity model errors while high-altitude orbits yield good accuracy due to small gravity model errors. To remedy the poor performance for low-altitude orbits, a Gravity Model Error Compensation (GMEC) technique is proposed and investigated. Along with a special tuning model developed specifically for GRAVNAV, this technique is demonstrated to work well for various geocentric and lunar orbits.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">In addition to the gravity model error, other variables affecting the state estimation accuracy are also explored in the two-body analysis. These variables include the six Keplerian orbital elements, measurement accuracy, intersatellite range, and satellite formation shape. The GRAVNAV analysis shows that a smaller intersatellite range results in increased state estimation error. Despite the intersatellite range bounds, semimajor axis, measurement model, and measurement errors being identical for both orbits, the satellite formation shape also has a strong influence on orbit determination accuracy. Formations that place both satellites in different orbits significantly outperform those that place both satellites in the same orbit.</p><p dir="ltr">The three-body analysis primarily focuses on characterizing the unique behavior of GRAVNAV in Near Rectilinear Halo Orbits (NRHOs). Like the two-body analysis, the effect of the satellite formation shape is also characterized and shown to have a similar impact on the orbit determination performance. Unlike the two-body problem, however, different orbits possess different stability properties which are shown to significantly affect orbit determination performance. The more stable NRHOs yield better GRAVNAV performance and are also less sensitive to factors that negatively impact performance such as measurement error, process noise, and decreased intersatellite range.</p><p dir="ltr">Overall, the analyses in this thesis show that GRAVNAV yields accurate and computationally efficient orbit determination when GMEC is used. This, along with the independence of GRAVNAV from GNSS signals and ground-station tracking, shows that GRAVNAV has good potential for navigation in cislunar space and beyond.</p>

<div>As destinations of missions in both human and robotic spaceflight become more exotic, a foundational understanding the dynamical structures in the gravitational environments enable more informed mission trajectory designs. One particular type of structure, quasi-periodic orbits, are examined in this investigation. Specifically, efficient computation of quasi-periodic orbits and leveraging quasi-periodic orbits as trajectory design alternatives in the Earth-Moon and Sun-Earth systems. First, periodic orbits and their associated center manifold are discussed to provide the background for the existence of quasi-periodic motion on n-dimensional invariant tori, where n corresponds to the number of fundamental frequencies that define the motion. Single and multiple shooting differential corrections strategies are summarized to compute families 2-dimensional tori in the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP) using a stroboscopic mapping technique, originally developed by Howell and Olikara. Three types of quasi-periodic orbit families are presented: constant energy, constant frequency ratio, and constant mapping time families. Stability of quasi-periodic orbits is summarized and characterized with a single stability index quantity. For unstable quasi-periodic orbits, hyperbolic manifolds are computed from the differential of a discretized invariant curve. The use of quasi-periodic orbits is also demonstrated for destination orbits and transfer trajectories. Quasi-DROs are examined in the CR3BP and the Sun-Earth-Moon ephemeris model to achieve constant line of sight with Earth and avoid lunar eclipsing by exploiting orbital resonance. Arcs from quasi-periodic orbits are leveraged to provide an initial guess for transfer trajectory design between a planar Lyapunov orbit and an unstable halo orbit in the Earth-Moon system. Additionally, quasi-periodic trajectory arcs are exploited for transfer trajectory initial guesses between nearly stable periodic orbits in the Earth-Moon system. Lastly, stable hyperbolic manifolds from a Sun-Earth L₁ quasi-vertical orbit are employed to design maneuver-free transfer from the LEO vicinity to a quasi-vertical orbit.</div>