Trajectory optimization and applications using high performance solar sails

The high performance solar sail can enable fast missions to the outer solar system and produce exotic non-Keplerian orbits. As there is no fuel consumption, mission trajectories for solar sail spacecraft are typically optimized with respect to flight time. Several investigations focused on interstellar probe missions have been made, including optimal methods and new objective functions. Two modes of interstellar mission trajectories, namely direct flyby and angular momentum reversal trajectory, are compared and discussed. As a foundation, a 3D non-dimensional dynamic model for an ideal plane solar sail is introduced as well as an optimal control framework. A newly found periodic double angular momentum reversal trajectory is presented, and some properties and potential applications of this kind of inverse orbits are illustrated. The method how to achieve the minimum periodic inverse orbit is also briefly elucidated. (C) 2011 The Chinese Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics.