Applied Trajectory Design for CubeSat Close-Proximity Operations around Asteroids: The Milani Case

Abstract

In this paper, a practical approach to trajectory design for asteroid exploration missions with CubeSats is presented. When applied trajectories are sought, operative concerns and uncertainties affecting the spacecraft dynamics must be considered during the preliminary design process. Otherwise, trajectories that are possible on paper might become infeasible when real-world constraints are considered. The risk of such eventualities leads to the need to extend the trajectory design to focus on the uncertainties affecting the dynamics and on the operative constraints derived by ground operations. This is especially true when targeting highly perturbed environments such as small bodies with low-cost solutions such as CubeSats, whose capabilities in deep space are still unknown. The case study presented is the Milani CubeSat, which will be launched in 2024 with Hera in the frame of the AIDA mission.