Trajectory Stability and Signature Diagnostics for Comet-Based Interstellar Navigation

TL;DR

This paper develops a stability framework for comet-based interstellar navigation, analyzing trajectory control under non-gravitational forces, and proposes diagnostics to distinguish active stabilization from natural dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces a novel stability-theoretic approach for trajectory tracking with jet-actuated correction in interstellar navigation, addressing non-gravitational disturbances and astrometric signatures.

Findings

High-speed transit geometry constrains feasible trajectories

Stability conditions across four levels are derived

Diagnostics can empirically test stabilization effectiveness

Abstract

Interstellar objects (ISOs) motivate a coupled mission-design and inference question relevant to spacecraft dynamics and control in extreme environments: if volatile-rich, rotating comet-like bodies were used for sustained deep-space navigation by exploiting pre-existing hyperbolic motion and in-situ propellant, what stability requirements arise under non-gravitational forcing, and what astrometric signatures might distinguish active stabilization from uncontrolled natural dynamics? We develop a stability-theoretic framework for trajectory tracking with jet-actuated correction, and show that high-speed transit geometry -- including debris-belt avoidance and encounter phasing -- tightly constrains feasible trajectories, making long-horizon tracking stability mission-critical. We model tracking residuals as the balance of disturbances and corrective action, and derive stability conditions across four levels: disturbance-energy stability, outer-loop contraction, actuator-memory stability, and rotation-mediated (Floquet) stability. The analysis implies residual diagnostics that can motivate empirical tests: under comparable forcing, effective stabilization is expected to strengthen short-horizon error correction, reduce event-conditioned persistence and variance clustering, regularize standardized innovations, and yield bounded post-shock recovery. More broadly, the framework provides a reference for deep-space guidance and control under nonlinear, multi-field disturbances and for planetary-defense concepts involving attitude shaping or impulsive kinetic impact.