Ion thrusters to Saturn

Siwei Li; Zibo Zhou

doi:10.1117/12.2672709

1 March 2023 Ion thrusters to Saturn

Siwei Li, Zibo Zhou

Proceedings Volume 12596, International Conference on Mechatronics Engineering and Artificial Intelligence (MEAI 2022); 125962D (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2672709
Event: International Conference on Mechatronics Engineering and Artificial Intelligence (MEAI 2022), 2022, Changsha, China

Abstract

This paper analyzes a feasible spacecraft flight plan that uses gravitation assistance to transport the spacecraft from Earth to the circular orbit around Saturn (the spacecraft is in a circular orbit around the Earth, with an orbital period of 90 minutes and a total mass of 5000 kg, including fuel) by establishing a low thrust transfer orbit model and calculates the minimum amount of fuel required, which is 1878.73kg. There is also an attempt to evaluate different options for controlling the ion thrusters during the journey, and one of the schemes inspired by the Cassini Huygens spacecraft is proposed and considered optimal. Adopting this plan, the total journey time is calculated to be 14.2 years.

Citation Download Citation

Siwei Li and Zibo Zhou "Ion thrusters to Saturn", Proc. SPIE 12596, International Conference on Mechatronics Engineering and Artificial Intelligence (MEAI 2022), 125962D (1 March 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2672709

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available