Evaluation of Mother-Daughter Architectures for Asteroid Belt Exploration. (arXiv:1812.11243v1 [astro-ph.IM])
<a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Vance_L/0/1/0/all/0/1">Leonard Dean Vance</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Asphaug_E/0/1/0/all/0/1">Erik Asphaug</a>, <a href="http://arxiv.org/find/astro-ph/1/au:+Thangavelautham_J/0/1/0/all/0/1">Jekan Thangavelautham</a>
This paper examines the effectiveness of an asteroid exploration architecture
comprised of multiple nanosatellite sized spacecraft deployed from a single
mother ship into a heliocentric orbit in the main asteroid belt where the
mothership is ideally located in region of high density. Basic mission
requirements associated with a Mother-Daughter architecture are established
utilizing a relatively large number (10-20) daughter spacecraft distributed
from a mothership within the asteroid belt for the purpose of executing sample
and return missions. A number of trade analyses are performed to establish
system performance to changes in initial orbit, delta-V capability and maximum
small spacecraft flight time. The balance between the initial delta-V burn and
asteroid velocity matching are also examined, with a goal of minimizing the
amount of fuel needed in the small spacecraft. Preliminary requirements for the
system are established using these results, and a conceptual design is
presented for comparison to other asteroid exploration techniques. Preliminary
results indicate that the aforementioned concept of a mothership with small
spacecraft is viable and should be considered as an alternative approach to
first order surveying of the asteroid belt.
This paper examines the effectiveness of an asteroid exploration architecture
comprised of multiple nanosatellite sized spacecraft deployed from a single
mother ship into a heliocentric orbit in the main asteroid belt where the
mothership is ideally located in region of high density. Basic mission
requirements associated with a Mother-Daughter architecture are established
utilizing a relatively large number (10-20) daughter spacecraft distributed
from a mothership within the asteroid belt for the purpose of executing sample
and return missions. A number of trade analyses are performed to establish
system performance to changes in initial orbit, delta-V capability and maximum
small spacecraft flight time. The balance between the initial delta-V burn and
asteroid velocity matching are also examined, with a goal of minimizing the
amount of fuel needed in the small spacecraft. Preliminary requirements for the
system are established using these results, and a conceptual design is
presented for comparison to other asteroid exploration techniques. Preliminary
results indicate that the aforementioned concept of a mothership with small
spacecraft is viable and should be considered as an alternative approach to
first order surveying of the asteroid belt.
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