Related papers: GTOC 12: Results from TheAntipodes
This paper presents the solution approach developed by the team "theAntipodes" for the 11th Global Trajectory Optimization Competition (GTOC11). The approach consists of four main blocks: 1) mothership chain generation, 2) rendezvous table…
In 2023, the 12th edition of Global Trajectory Competition was organised around the problem referred to as "Sustainable Asteroid Mining". This paper reports the developments that led to the solution proposed by ESA's Advanced Concepts Team.…
The design of interplanetary trajectories often involves a preliminary search for options later refined/assembled into one final trajectory. It is this broad search that, often being intractable, inspires the international event called…
Dyson spheres are hypothetical megastructures encircling stars in order to harvest most of their energy output. During the 11th edition of the GTOC challenge, participants were tasked with a complex trajectory planning related to the…
The optimal design of multi-target rendezvous and flyby missions is challenging due to the combination of traditional spacecraft trajectory optimization and high-dimensional combinatorial problems. This often requires large-scale global…
This paper presents a comparative study of the applicability and accuracy of optimal control methods and neural network-based estimators in the context of porkchop plots for preliminary asteroid rendezvous mission design. The scenario…
Designing optimal trajectories for multi-flyby asteroid missions is scientifically critical but technically challenging due to nonlinear dynamics, intermediate constraints, and numerous local optima. This paper establishes a method that…
In this study, an interplanetary space flight mission design is established to obtain the minimum \(\Delta V\) required for a rendezvous and sample return mission from an asteroid. Given the initial (observed) conditions of an asteroid, a…
A deep-space exploration mission with low-thrust propulsion to rendezvous with multiple asteroids is investigated. Indirect methods, based on the optimal control theory, are implemented to optimize the fuel consumption. The application of…
We present gPC-SCP: Generalized Polynomial Chaos-based Sequential Convex Programming to compute a sub-optimal solution for a continuous-time chance-constrained stochastic nonlinear optimal control (SNOC) problem. The approach enables motion…
This paper summarizes the solution approach and the numerical methods developed by the joint team Sapienza University of Rome and Politecnico di Torino (Team Sapienza-PoliTo) in the context of the 10th Global Trajectory Optimization…
This study presents a fast nonlinear programming algorithm for low-thrust multi-asteroid rendezvous missions. The core contribution is the derivation of analytical formulations for both first- and second-order gradients of low-thrust…
Reliable and efficient trajectory generation methods are a fundamental need for autonomous dynamical systems of tomorrow. The goal of this article is to provide a comprehensive tutorial of three major convex optimization-based trajectory…
Inspired by the recent 11th Global Trajectory Optimisation Competition, this paper presents the asteroid routing problem (ARP) as a realistic benchmark of algorithms for expensive bound-constrained black-box optimization in permutation…
Trajectory optimization of low-thrust perturbed orbit rendezvous is a crucial technology for space missions in low Earth orbits, which is difficult to solve due to its initial value sensitivity, especially when the transfer trajectory has…
In this paper we present a fast method based on successive convexification for generating fuel-optimized spacecraft rendezvous trajectories in the presence of mixed-integer constraints. A recently developed paradigm of state-triggered…
We consider the interplanetary trajectory design problem posed by the 8th edition of the Global Trajectory Optimization Competition and present the end-to-end strategy developed by the team ACT-ISAS (a collaboration between the European…
This paper describes the methods used and the results obtained by team Karmarkar's Gang for the 10th edition of the Global Trajectory Optimization Competition. The methods used by our team are described. These methods involve: mothership…
This study proposes a new automated strategy for designing and optimizing three-dimensional interplanetary low-thrust (LT) trajectories. The method formulates the design as a hybrid optimal control problem and solves it using a two-step…
Sequential Convex Programming (SCP) has recently seen a surge of interest as a tool for trajectory optimization. However, most available methods lack rigorous performance guarantees and they are often tailored to specific optimal control…