Guidance trajectories for spacecraft rendezvous (Q946320)

The authors study how to optimize the three-dimensional rendezvous between a target spacecraft in a planar circular orbit and a chaser spacecraft with an initial separation distance and separation velocity. The authors employ the multiple-subarc sequential gradient-restoration algorithm [see the authors' previous paper, ibid. 132, No. 3, 353--376 (2007; Zbl 1176.70036)] to produce pieced guidance trajectories. In fact the authors investigate the four problems: (P1) minimum time, fuel free; (P2) minimum fuel, time free; (P3) minimum time, fuel given; and (P4) minimum fuel, time given.