Numerical Challenges in Cassini Maneuver Operations

Abstract

Launched in 1997 to observe Saturn and its system, Cassini successfully entered Saturn orbit in 2004 and impacted the planet on September 15, 2017 after 22 orbits each skimming over Saturn’s cloud tops. The Cassini mission represents the most complex gravity-assist trajectory ever flown. As such, the Flight Path Control team encountered many difficulties along the way, resulting in a continuously evolving maneuver process. In this paper, we focus on the challenges presented by the well-known singularities in the transfer problem and the unexpected numerical instabilities in state propagations through flybys, maneuver algorithm convergence issues, and orbital element targeting difficulties.