Two-phase framework for optimal multi-target Lambert rendezvous

TL;DR

This paper introduces a two-phase optimization framework combining elementary rendezvous solutions and a TSP variant to efficiently plan multi-target Lambert rendezvous missions, demonstrated through asteroid exploration case studies.

Contribution

It presents a novel two-phase approach that integrates single-target solutions with a TSP formulation for multi-target rendezvous optimization.

Findings

Framework effectively solves multi-target rendezvous problems.

Demonstrated success in asteroid exploration case study.

Provides optimal rendezvous sequences and trajectories.

Abstract

This paper proposes a two-phase framework to solve an optimal multi-target Lambert rendezvous problem. The first phase solves a series of single-target rendezvous problems for all departure-arrival object pairs to generate the elementary solutions, which provides candidate rendezvous trajectories (elementary solutions). The second phase formulates a variant of traveling salesman problem (TSP) using the elementary solutions prepared in the first phase and determines the best rendezvous sequence and trajectories of the multi-target rendezvous problem. The validity of the proposed optimization framework is demonstrated through an asteroid exploration case study.