Air Force Institute of Technology AFIT Scholar Theses and Dissertations Student Graduate Works 3-24-2016 Short Duration Missions to Earth Crossing Asteroids James B. Millar III Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.afit.edu/etd Part of the Astrodynamics Commons Recommended Citation Millar, James B. III, "Short Duration Missions to Earth Crossing Asteroids" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 440. https://scholar.afit.edu/etd/440 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Graduate Works at AFIT Scholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of AFIT Scholar. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SHORT DURATION MISSIONS TO EARTH CROSSING ASTEROIDS THESIS James B. Millar, III, 2d Lt, USAF AFIT-ENY-MS-16-M-228 DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE AIR UNIVERSITY AIR FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED The views expressed in this document are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the United States Air Force, the United States Department of Defense or the United States Government. This material is declared a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. AFIT-ENY-MS-16-M-228 SHORT DURATION MISSIONS TO EARTH CROSSING ASTEROIDS THESIS Presented to the Faculty Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics Graduate School of Engineering and Management Air Force Institute of Technology Air University Air Education and Training Command in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science James B. Millar, III, B.S. 2d Lt, USAF March 2016 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED AFIT-ENY-MS-16-M-228 SHORT DURATION MISSIONS TO EARTH CROSSING ASTEROIDS THESIS James B. Millar, III, B.S. 2d Lt, USAF Committee Membership: Dr. William E. Wiesel, Ph.D. Chair Maj Christopher D. Geisel, Ph.D. Member Dr. Eric D. Swenson, Ph.D. Member AFIT-ENY-MS-16-M-228 Abstract My investigation of the Near Earth Object (NEO) catalog has led to identification of numerous short duration, under 40 days, mission opportunities in the future for three different mission types: uncrewed fly-by, uncrewed arrival, and crewed arrival. 2-body propagation techniques were used to model the orbits of various asteroid candidates and the Earth to determine when a close approach would occur. Once the dates were calculated, distance between the bodies was computed to estimate the ∆V to complete the mission. From the mission ∆V values, a possible mission duration was also computed. The values were analyzed to determine the best options for the mission types described above. One candidate is presented for the uncrewed fly-by opportunity, three for the uncrewed arrival mission, and four more for a potential crewed mission. The results show that a short duration mission is not only possible but should be strongly considered in the near future. These short duration missions are in sharp contrast to the common multi-month or year long duration proposals. Among the other wealth and resource benefits, short duration asteroid missions are of supreme importance for planetary defense and maintaining a powerful US space presence. iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank everyone who supported me along this journey, Stephanie, my family, my friends and finally my advisor, Dr. Wiesel. His guidance and leadership throughout my research has been unmatched and I could not have done this without him. James B. Millar, III v Table of Contents Page Abstract . iv Acknowledgments . .v List of Figures . viii List of Tables . xi List of Acronyms . xiii 1. Introduction . .1 1.1 Overview . .1 1.2 Motivation . .2 1.3 Scope..........................................................6 1.4 Methodology and Resources . .8 1.5 Objectives . .9 2. Literature Review . 11 2.1 2-Body Problem Background . 11 2.2 Proposed Missions in Development. 18 2.3 Uncrewed Mission Proposals . 21 2.4 Crewed Mission Proposals . 23 2.4.1 Long Duration Missions (More than 8 Months) . 23 2.4.2 Medium Duration Missions (1-8 Months) . 26 3. Methodology . 33 3.1 Asteroid Determination . 33 3.1.1 NEO Catalog . 33 3.1.2 Asteroid Crossing Point . 35 3.2 Earth Determination . 40 3.3 Delta V Computations . 44 3.3.1 Outbound ∆V ........................................... 46 3.3.2 Rendezvous ∆V .......................................... 51 3.3.3 Divert ∆V .............................................. 54 3.4 Selection Criteria . 57 4. Results and Analysis . 60 4.1 Asteroid Selection . 60 4.1.1 Close Approach Comparisons . 61 4.1.2 STK Modeling . 64 vi Page 4.2 Final Opportunities . 69 4.3 Time Analysis and Mission Planning for Minimum Time Approach . 72 4.4 Developing a Minimum ∆V Approach by Accounting for Potential Errors . 78 5. Conclusions . 92 5.1 Candidates for Uncrewed Missions . 93 5.1.1 Uncrewed Fly-Bys . 93 5.1.2 Uncrewed Arrivals . 94 5.2 Candidates for Crewed Missions . 96 5.3 Future Work . 98 5.4 Review of Objectives. 99 Appendix A. 101 A.1 Mission ∆V .................................................. 101 Appendix B. 104 B.1 Mission Planning . 104 B.2 Close Approach Dates. 104 Bibliography . 106 vii List of Figures Figure Page 1. NEO in Solar System . .3 2. Classes of Earth Crossing Asteroids . .4 3. Newton's Law of Gravity in the Restricted 2-Body Problem . 13 4. Diagram of Six Classical Orbital Elements . 18 5. Ivar Trajectory Using Delta-VEGA Trajectory . 25 6. 2000 SG344 Trajectories in Rotating Frame . 27 7. 2000 SG344 Trajectory in Earth-Centered Frame . 27 8. 2008 EA9 Trajectory in Heliocentric-Ecliptic Coordinate System........................................................ 28 9. 1991 VG Mission Trajectory . 29 10. Apophis Trajectory Using Early Departure . 31 11. Apophis Trajectory Using Late Departure . 31 12. Simple NEO Earth Crossing Point Diagram . 36 13. Earth Crossing Point True Anomaly Diagram . 42 14. Approximated Outbound Trajectory . 45 15. Approximated Inbound Trajectory . 45 16. Speed at Asteroid Arrival Compared to Added ∆V .................. 52 17. Time Until Asteroid Arrival Compared to Added ∆V ................ 52 18. Rendezvous ∆V Maneuver . 54 19. Lateral Divert ∆V Maneuver . 55 20. Non-lateral Divert ∆V Maneuver . 56 21. STK Screenshot of 2013 FU13 on Close Approach Date . 65 viii Figure Page 22. STK Screenshot of Orbit of 2013 FU13 on Close Approach Date . 65 23. STK Screenshot of 2001 GP2 on Close Approach Date . 66 24. STK Screenshot of Orbit of 2001 GP2 on Close Approach Date . 67 25. STK Screenshot of 2009 QR on Close Approach Date . 68 26. STK Screenshot of Orbit of 2009 QR.