Analytical Sun-Synchronous Low-Thrust Orbit Maneuvers

A general perturbations representation of a two-point boundary value transfer between two sun-synchronous orbits was achieved for both constant acceleration and constant thrust. Maintaining an objective function to minimize propellant use, the general perturbations solution for constant thrust was found to be very nearly optimal in terms of mass consumption. The transfer time of the general perturbations solution was found to be accurate to within less than two percentage points with respect to the numerically optimized solution. The methods used in this work allow for solution of the two-point boundary transfer problem between sun-synchronous orbits. The use of an accurate analytical method significantly reduces the time required to find a solution, along with the computational load of doing so, by rapidly providing a high-quality initial solution.