Analytical Results for Solar Sail Optimal Missions with Modulated Radial Thrust

The aim of this paper is to analyze the optimal trajectories of a spacecraft subjected to a modulated radial thrust, whose magnitude is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the primary body. This case is representative of a Sun-facing solar sail with a passive attitude control system. In this study the sailcraft is assumed to perform a finite number of reorientation maneuvers to set the propelling acceleration to zero and generate suitable coasting arcs along the trajectory. Accordingly, the resulting generalized orbit is a sequence of either propelled or ballistic conic arcs, whose main characteristics (in terms of semimajor axis, eccentricity, and perihelion radius) can be calculated in closed form. As a result, the sailcraft optimal performance can be studied using an analytical approach. In particular, some compact relationships are drawn and discussed that allow one to find the optimal sailcraft characteristics required to reach a prescribed final orbit.