Trajectory to Largely Inclined out of Ecliptic Orbit by way of Electric Propulsion and Venus/Earth Gravity Assists

Abstract

The study on the post-HINODE Solar Observation Mission has been started by members in the Solar physics community. One candidate of the mission targets is the observation of the high latitude region of the Sun, which requires the injection of the space observatory (spacecraft) into the orbit largely inclined with the ecliptic plane. Reported in this paper is the trajectory design result for this orbit transfer by way of the Solar electric propulsion and the Venus/Earth gravity assists. The sequence is divided into two phases, the Venus Earth Gravity Assist (VEGA) phase and the sequential Electric Propulsion Delta-V Earth Gravity Assist (EDVEGA) phase. The designed trajectory through the sequence is provided, and it is compared with the trajectory solely using the sequential EDVEGA strategy.