ETD

• astrodynamics
• deep space manoeuvres
• optimization
• primer vector

The aim of the present work has been to design high-thrust interplanetary trajectories with Deep Space Manoeuvres (DSMs). The work has been developed at the department of Astrodynamics & Space Missions, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, within the context of Tudat, TU Delft Astrodynamics Toolbox.
It is a C++ library intended to provide the functionality to perform simulations for various astrodynamics applications, e.g., interplanetary trajectory optimization, asteroid-rendezvous missions, re-entry phase, etc. During this work, about 9000 lines of code have been written, able to simulate a complete interplanetary trajectory.
To model the DSMs, it has been used an indirect optimization method, the primer vector variational approach. This method allows a strong decrease in the search space, when a global optimization is applied. Many verifications about the written codes have been made, in particular to test the entire developed package, a simulation about the current Phobos-Grunt mission has been carried out.