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A global optimization method for the design of space trajectories

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Abstract

The problem of optimally designing a trajectory for a space mission is considered in this paper. Actual mission design is a complex, multi-disciplinary and multi-objective activity with relevant economic implications. In this paper we will consider some simplified models proposed by the European Space Agency as test problems for global optimization (GTOP database). We show that many trajectory optimization problems can be quite efficiently solved by means of relatively simple global optimization techniques relying on standard methods for local optimization. We show in this paper that our approach has been able to find trajectories which in many cases outperform those already known. We also conjecture that this problem displays a “funnel structure” similar, in some sense, to that of molecular optimization problems.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DEI, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Bernardetta Addis

  2. DSI, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Firenze, Italy

    Andrea Cassioli & Fabio Schoen

  3. DI, Università degli Studi di Torino, Torino, Italy

    Marco Locatelli

Authors
  1. Bernardetta Addis
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  2. Andrea Cassioli
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  3. Marco Locatelli
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  4. Fabio Schoen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fabio Schoen.

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Addis, B., Cassioli, A., Locatelli, M. et al. A global optimization method for the design of space trajectories. Comput Optim Appl 48, 635–652 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10589-009-9261-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10589-009-9261-6

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