ORGANIZING BALLISTIC ORBIT CLASSES AROUND SMALL BODIES

Orbital dynamics around small bodies are as varied as the shape and dynamical states of these bodies. While various classes of orbits have been analyzed in detail, the global overview of relevant ballistic orbits at particular bodies is not easily computed or organized. Yet, correctly categorizing these orbits will ease their future use in the overall trajectory design process. This paper overviews methods that have been used to organize orbits, focusing on periodic orbits in particular, and introduces new methods based on clustering approaches.