Diffractive Sail H-Reversal Trajectory: Theoretical Feasibility, Design Strategies, and Applications

Abstract

With the growing threat of near-Earth asteroid, planetary defense serves as a vital shield against catastrophic disasters. Kinetic impact utilizing an angular momentum reversal (H-reversal) trajectory of a solar sail is a highly advantageous defense approach. However, traditional reflective sails (RS) are constrained during these maneuvers by attitude-thrust coupling and a degradation of solar radiation pressure utilization at the high cone angles required for transverse acceleration. To enhance impact performance and simplify control, this paper proposes an H-reversal impact scheme utilizing a Sun-facing diffractive sail (SFDS) under a one-stage diffraction angle θd strategy and a two-stage θd strategy. The feasible parameter spaces for both strategies were mapped using the hodograph method. Tailored trajectory design methods were established for both strategies based on the feasibility analysis. Apophis impact scenario was considered, and the corresponding trajectories were constructed. Simulations demonstrate that the one-stage θd SFDS outperforms RS through a 21% increase in the impact velocity and a 35% decrease in the mission duration. Furthermore, the proposed two-stage θd strategy yields an additional 9km/s gain in impact velocity. By utilizing SFDS H-reversal trajectories, this research establishes an emergency planetary defense framework characterized by rapid response and high kinetic energy.