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Astrodynamics 2019, 3(1): 1-15 https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-018-0032-y
Review Article | Issue | Published: 14 December 2018

Solar sail 𝑯-reversal trajectory: A review of its advances and applications

Show Author's Information Xiangyuan Zeng1( ),  Giovanni Vulpetti2,  Christian Circi3
School of Automation, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
International Academy of Astronautics, Paris 75116, France
Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00138, Italy
Keywords:
solar-photon sailing, sailcraft, lightness number, orbital H-reversal mode
Cite this article:
Zeng X, Vulpetti G, Circi C. Solar sail 𝑯-reversal trajectory: A review of its advances and applications. Astrodynamics, 2019, 3(1): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42064-018-0032-y
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Abstract Full text About this article

The set of the orbital angular-momentum reversal, or H-reversal, sailcraft trajectory was born as a type of unconventional precursor interstellar mission trajectory by using high-performance solar sails. Starting from an outline of the H-reversal sail trajectory, this paper mainly focuses on the 2D reversal-mode solution to the general solar-photon sail motion equations. The feasible region for H-reversal trajectories in fixed sail attitude angles is illustrated. Some interesting applications of the H-reversal trajectory are presented in detail to show its advantages. As a special case, a precursor interstellar probe can be delivered with a constant sail orientation in the H-reversal trajectory to be compared with the direct-motion sail flyby of the Sun. Of importance are the heliocentric periodic orbits in double H-reversal modes, obtained via both fixed and time-varying sail attitude angles. Two more applications involving H-reversal trajectories are discussed in terms of asteroid deflection and transfer trajectory to rectilinear orbits. Finally, some items of the mathematics behind the 3D motion-reversal trajectories are summarized.


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About this article

Solar sail 𝑯-reversal trajectory: A review of its advances and applications

Show Author's information Xiangyuan Zeng1( ), Giovanni Vulpetti2, Christian Circi3
School of Automation, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China
International Academy of Astronautics, Paris 75116, France
Sapienza University of Rome, Rome 00138, Italy

Abstract

The set of the orbital angular-momentum reversal, or H-reversal, sailcraft trajectory was born as a type of unconventional precursor interstellar mission trajectory by using high-performance solar sails. Starting from an outline of the H-reversal sail trajectory, this paper mainly focuses on the 2D reversal-mode solution to the general solar-photon sail motion equations. The feasible region for H-reversal trajectories in fixed sail attitude angles is illustrated. Some interesting applications of the H-reversal trajectory are presented in detail to show its advantages. As a special case, a precursor interstellar probe can be delivered with a constant sail orientation in the H-reversal trajectory to be compared with the direct-motion sail flyby of the Sun. Of importance are the heliocentric periodic orbits in double H-reversal modes, obtained via both fixed and time-varying sail attitude angles. Two more applications involving H-reversal trajectories are discussed in terms of asteroid deflection and transfer trajectory to rectilinear orbits. Finally, some items of the mathematics behind the 3D motion-reversal trajectories are summarized.

Keywords: solar-photon sailing, sailcraft, lightness number, orbital H-reversal mode

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Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 24 February 2018
Accepted: 04 April 2018
Published: 14 December 2018
Issue date: March 2019

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press 2018

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 11602019) and the Young Elite Scientist Sponsorship Program by CAST (2016QNRC001). The Excellent Young Teachers Program of Beijing Institute of Technology (2015YG0605) is acknowledged as well.

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