Nishanth Pushparaj

University of Nottingham | Notts · Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering

Quasi-satellite or distant retrograde orbits are stable orbits in the restricted three-body problem will be used in remote planetary satellite missions like JAXA’s Martian Moons eXploration (MMX). Due to Phobos’ irregular gravity field, the proximity operations of the MMX mission require sophisticated techniques for transfers and maintenance betwee...

Quasi-satellite orbits (QSOs) are stable retrograde orbits in the restricted three-body problem that have gained attention as a viable candidate for future deep-space missions towards remote planetary satellites. JAXA’s robotic sample return mission MMX will utilize QSOs to perform scientific observations of the Martian moon Phobos before landing o...

Stable Quasi-Satellite Orbits (QSOs) have gained a lot of attention as suitable candidate orbits to explore remote planetary moons. Despite many studies on QSO and its orbital stability are found in literature, the problem of efficient transfer between two QSO is still unsolved. Previous works on transfers between two QSOs includes transfers betwee...

Geostationary transfer orbits (GTOs) are geocentric orbits widely considered for kick-stage operations of satellites for deep space missions. A piggyback spacecraft departing from GTOs requires a low transfer cost. The type of GTO and launch timings of piggyback missions, on the other hand, are typically determined by the primary mission that carri...

DESTINY+ is an upcoming JAXA Epsilon medium-class mission to fly by the Geminids meteor shower parent body (3200) Phaethon. It will be the world’s first spacecraft to escape from a near-geostationary transfer orbit into deep space using a low-thrust propulsion system. In doing so, DESTINY+ will demonstrate a number of technologies that include a hi...

DESTINY+ is an upcoming JAXA Epsilon medium-class mission to fly by the Geminids meteor shower parent body (3200) Phaethon. It will be the world's first spacecraft to escape from a near-geostationary transfer orbit into deep space using a low-thrust propulsion system. In doing so, DESTINY+ will demonstrate a number of technologies that include a hi...

Asteroid exploration has been attracting more attention in recent years. Nevertheless, we have just visited tens of asteroids while we have discovered more than one million bodies. As our current observation and knowledge should be biased, it is essential to explore multiple asteroids directly to better understand the remains of planetary building...

Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO) is a good launching point for deep space missions. Although "piggy-back" is a low-cost approach to insert a micro space probe into a GTO, the primary mission primarily determines GTOs' nature and the launch dates for piggy-back satellites. Therefore, the piggy-back probes' hybrid kick motor must have the necessary...

A new non-averaged non-singular solution is derived for describing the orbital motion around the Earth under the influence of solar radiation pressure (SRP), using Kustaanheimo-Stiefel (KS) regularization technique. Despite the increase in the dimensionality of the system, there exists a symmetry in the KS space. Just three out of the ten equations...

Quasi-satellite or distant retrograde orbits are stable and suitable candidates for remote planetary satellite missions like the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) being developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. This paper explores the design of transfer trajectories between quasi-satellite orbits (QSOs) near Phobos. We utilize the horizont...

Distant Retrograde Orbits (DROs) or Quasi Satellite Orbits (QSOs) have recently gained attention as suitable candidates for future deep space missions towards remote planetary satellites. Examples of such missions include the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX), currently being developed by the Japan Aerospace eXploration Agency (JAXA), and ESA's PHOOT...

Progression of f-type family of periodic orbits, their nature, stability and location nearer the smaller primary for different mass ratios in the framework of circular restricted three-body problem is studied using Poincaré surfaces of section. The orbits around the smaller primary are found to decrease in size with increase in Jacobian Constant C,...

Photogravitational Restricted Three-Body Problem (PRTBP) with smaller primary being an oblate spheroid with its equatorial plane coincident with the plane of motion of the primaries is considered and halo orbits in the vicinity of Sun-Mars Lagrangian points L1 and L2 are computed numerically. The effects of perturbations on size, shape, location an...

Interior resonance periodic orbits around the Sun in the Sun-Jupiter photogravitational restricted three-body problem using the method of Poincaré surface of section are studied. The nature, stability and location of these periodic orbits with interior resonances of 2:1, 3:2 and 4:3 are generated for different values of Jacobi constant C. It is fou...