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Preliminary mission design for proposed NuSol probe
Messick, Kyle
Messick, Kyle
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2021-05
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Electronic dissertations
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Abstract
A solar neutrino detector has never
own in space. NuSol is a proposed mission to
y a
solar neutrino detector close to the Sun in order to conduct unique science experiments
that cannot be realized by detectors on Earth. This research presents a preliminary
trajectory design for the NuSol mission in order to accomplish the science goals, taking
into account operational and speci ed mission cost constraints, given launch window, and
an overall mission duration. To quickly check through a diverse design space of possible
mission solutions, a mission design algorithm was developed in MATLAB.
The mission design procedure used in this thesis is based on the standard patched-conics
methodology to break the mission into a sequence of two-body problems, starting with a
hyperbolic Earth escape trajectory and followed by elliptic heliocentric orbits yielding
multiple planetary arrival phases. Minimization of the nal perihelion is done by utilizing
multiple consecutive gravity assist (GA) maneuvers to reshape the initial trajectory after a
launch and departure from Earth. As launch costs prove to be a substantial share of the
overall mission cost, the study is restricted to initial launch energies which equal 100 $km^2\over s^2$
or less.
This study provides insight on the closest reachable distance to the Sun when given a
speci ed wet mass and launch vehicle. The work also addresses many issues in trade o s
that arise in multi-GA maneuver mission design studies. These issues include mass trade
o s at launch as well as during the heliocentric transfer when comparing ballistic and
powered GA maneuvers. One of the greatest challenges the research works to overcome is
the computational time and resources that are required when analyzing a vast mission
design space.
The results for the study indicate that a currently available launch vehicle can deploy the
1,400 kg spacecraft housing the neutrino detector in a Earth-Venus transfer orbit, which
will eventually reach below 20 Solar Radii within the stipulated time of 5 years.
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Thesis (M.S.)-- Wichita State University, College of Engineering, Dept. of Aerospace Engineering
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Wichita State University
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©Copyright 2021 by Kyle Messick
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