Analysis of Cislunar Transfers Departing from a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit Using Solar Electric Propulsion

An analysis is completed to support the design of optimized trajectories of a massive spacecraft from an L2 Southern NRHO to a Distant Retrograde Orbit and a L2 Northern NRHO using a Solar Electric Propulsion System (SEP). An optimized trajectory is developed for each transfer for a 54t spacecraft utilizing a 26.6kW SEP system. A parameterization is developed for each reference transfer to allow analysis of the sensitivity of the trajectory to changes in vehicle mass, SEP power, and Ion Propulsion System (IPS) performance. Required Dv for each transfer is characterized by the initial acceleration of the spacecraft, thus allowing trajectories to be assessed over a wide range of vehicle mass and SEP power inputs. This approach is shown to be useful in identifying optimal IPS configurations for minimizing propellant requirements for the reference transfers. Additionally, the analysis identifies regions where increases in SEP power do not immediately result in a corresponding decrease in required propellant as well as highlights the relative sensitivities of propellant requirements to changes in IPS thrust and specific impulse.