Dynamics of Resonance Orbits for Spacecrafts

Dynamics of resonance orbits, a family of non-Keplerian orbits, is investigated and the application in orbit transfer is discussed. The study of this paper indicates that the motion of spacecraft under continuous thrust can be viewed as a kind of forced vibrations in parametric plan, and the resonance will happen in special conditions. Therefore, we can study on the motion of spacecrafts using resonance theory, and this kind of non-Keplerian orbit is named resonance orbit. Resonance orbit is studied in this paper. First, the dynamical model for resonance orbit is established via the judicious choice of orbit parameters, time scale, and thrust representation. Then, the definition and expression of resonance orbit are given. Finally, the method of orbit transfer based on resonance orbit is proposed.