Formation of Inspection Motion for Spacecraft in Lunar Orbits

Abstract

In this work, the problem of selecting the initial parameters for the relative motion of spacecraft (SC) to ensure and maintain the inspection trajectory is addressed. The study includes modeling the relative motion of two SCs (reference and inspector) in low lunar circular orbits. The orbits for the reference SC considered are known stable and "frozen" orbits, which allowed for the analysis of their applicability in the implementation of inspection tasks. The results of the study demonstrated the presence of three main types of motion of the relative trajectory in the orbital coordinate system: movement along the Ox axis, rotation around the Oy and Ox axes. The use of 15 harmonics of the lunar gravitational potential for the analysis of relative motion of SCs around the Moon was justified. Each relative trajectory was analyzed taking into account deviations along the axes. It was shown that not all stable orbits are suitable for performing inspection tasks. Polar orbits demonstrated their advantages due to greater adaptability and reduced instability of the relative trajectory. It was shown that in non-polar orbits, the effect of increasing the eccentricity of the relative trajectory over time has a significant impact on the inspection movement.