Publication Date:
2019-07-13
Description:
Spacecraft flying in tetrahedron formations are excellent for electromagnetic and plasma studies. To better understand the Earth s magnetosphere and its interaction with the solar wind, the NASA Goddard Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission will fly a tetrahedron formation through different regions of the magnetosphere close to the magnetic equatorial plane. However, to explore regions that are almost perpendicular to the ecliptic plane a dramatic plane change is needed. To minimize fuel, a double lunar swingby can be used to perform the plane change. This paper investigates the feasibility of flying a four-spacecraft formation through the required double lunar swingby.
Keywords:
Astrodynamics
Type:
13th Annual AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting; Feb 09, 2003 - Feb 12, 2003; Ponce; Puerto Rico
Format:
text
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