NASA is currently working on the spacecraft and trajectory design for the Gateway mission that will reside in a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO). In the NRHO, Gateway will nominally require orbital maintenance maneuvers once per revolution. Separately, NASA is also working to develop technologies and techniques for relative navigation in cis-lunar space. Together, these concepts represent an opportunity for interesting research in cis-lunar navigation performance.
Read MoreThis paper provides a thorough review of how ballistic lunar transfers (BLTs) can be used to transfer from Earth to near rectilinear halo orbits (NRHOs) in an efficient manner.
Read MoreSpacecraft departing from the Gateway in a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) experience gravitational forces from the Moon, the Earth, and the Sun, all of which can be simultaneously significant. How do these celestial objects influence the trajectory of spacecraft? Find out more by reading this white paper.
Read MoreThe NASA Conjunction Assessment Risk Analysis (CARA) program has been performing routine on-orbit satellite conjunction risk analysis for unmanned NASA spacecraft since 2005, and has developed a robust operations procedure and set of recommended best practices for operational conjunction assessment. Read this article to learn more about the CARA program's updated requirments.
Read MoreThe L2 station keeping plan for the James Webb Space Telescope achieves zero velocity in the x-component at the fourth successive crossing of the XZ plane of the rotating libration point frame. The techniques developed to determine the minimum maneuver direction in a full ephemeris model, along with strategies to cope with the attitude constraints imposed by the sunshield that prevents the ability to maneuver along the stable eigenvector, are examined in this study.
Read MoreTrajectory analysis in the presence of multiple gravity fields is complex, and innovative computational tools are needed to simplify complicated design spaces, generate large quantities of data quickly, and visualize the output for user accessibility. Explore the tools required for success.
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