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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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Surveyor guidance program.

Surveyor guidance program for midcourse and terminal information, noting redundancy in design, decision making telecommunications, etc

COMPUTER PROGRAM↗

Progress Report No. 3 on Studies in the Fields of Space Flight and Guidance Theory

This paper contains progress reports of NASA-sponsored studies in the areas of space flight theory and guidance theory. The studies are carried on by several universities and industrial companies. This progress report covers the period from June 15, 1962 to December 20, 1962. The technical supervisor of the contracts is W.E. Miner, Deputy Chief of the Future Projects Branch of Aeroballistics Division, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center.

SPACECRAFT GUIDANCE↗

Comparison of Low-Thrust Control Laws for Application in Planetocentric Space

Recent interest at NASA for the application of solar electric propulsion for the transfer of significant payloads in cislunar space has led to the development of high-fidelity simulations of such missions. With such transfers involving transfer times on the order of months, simulation time can be significant. In the past, the examination of such missions typically began with the use of lower-fidelity trajectory optimization tools such as SEPSPOT to develop and tune guidance laws which delivered optimal or near- optimal trajectories, where optimal is generally defined as minimizing propellant expenditure or time of flight. The transfer of these solutions to a high-fidelity simulation is typically an iterative process whereby the initial solution may nearly, but not precisely, meet mission objectives. Further tuning of the guidance algorithm is typically necessary when accounting for high-fidelity perturbations such as those due to more detailed gravity models, secondary-body effects, solar radiation pressure, etc. While trajectory optimization is a useful method for determining optimal performance metrics, algorithms which deliver nearly optimal performance with minimal tuning are an attractive alternative.

SOLAR ELECTRIC PROPULSION↗

ORBITAL ELEMENT EQUATIONS FOR OPTIMUM LOW THRUST TRAJECTORIES

The three dimensional optimum trajectory relations developed by Messrs J. G. Cox and W. A. Shaw in Reference I, are transformed into- a form that appears more amenable to low thrust trajectory calculations. Orbital element coordinates, commonly used in Celestial Mechanics, are employed due to their slow variation in low thrust applications. Combinations of these elements and a generalized eccentric anomaly are utilized in arranging the resulting equations- in a form which does not contain circular singularities.

Spacecraft Guidance↗