Double Gravity-Assist Rendezvous Trajectory to Halley's Comet Using Deep-Space Low Thrust

Abstract

The perihelion of comet 1P/Halley in 2061 is an excellent chance to revisit this object of outstanding scientific and cultural relevance. During its 1986 approach to the Sun, it was targeted by several flyby missions. Due to its retrograde, highly-inclined orbit, the relative velocities during the encounter were large, limiting the scientific return due to the short time spent inside the coma. A rendezvous trajectory would overcome this limitation, but the design is challenging due to the limitations of current propulsion technology. Given the lead times of spacecraft development and the long duration of the interplanetary transfer to the comet, it is imperative to start mission planning as soon as possible. We present a novel rendezvous strategy, combining unpowered Jupiter and Saturn gravity-assists with deep-space low-thrust arcs. It minimizes launch energy and propellant budget, constraining the arrival to occur before the onset of high activity. The double flyby strategy reduces the otherwise prohibitive cost of the plane change maneuver. Closed expressions for the optimal flyby geometry, together with an explicit low-thrust transcription technique, reduce the number of design parameter to three, improving computational efficiency. Crucially, this is the first rendezvous mission concept achievable with well-proven technology (standard radioisotope thermoelectric generators and a Hall-effect thruster) and compatible with several existing launchers. We describe the trajectory optimization strategy and perform a comprehensive exploration of the design space. Finally, we present two promising proof-of-concept trajectories in detail.