Theory of Functional Connections and Nelder-Mead optimization methods applied in satellite characterization

The growing population of man-made objects with the build up of mega-constellations not only increases the potential danger to all space vehicles and in-space infrastructures (including space observatories), but above all poses a serious threat to astronomy and dark skies. Monitoring of this population requires precise satellite characterization, which is is a challenging task that involves analyzing observational data such as position, velocity, and light curves using optimization methods. In this study, we propose and analyze the application of two optimization procedures to determine the parameters associated with the dynamics of a satellite: one based on the Theory of Functional Connections (TFC) and another one based on the Nelder-Mead heuristic optimization algorithm. The TFC performs linear functional interpolation to embed the constraints of the problem into a functional. In this paper, we propose to use this functional to analytically embed the observational data of a satellite into its equations of dynamics. After that, any solution will always satisfy the observational data. The second procedure proposed in this research takes advantage of the Nealder-Mead algorithm, that does not require the gradient of the objective function, as alternative solution. The accuracy, efficiency, and dependency on the initial guess of each method is investigated, analyzed, and compared for several dynamical models. These methods can be used to obtain the physical parameters of a satellite from available observational data and for space debris characterization contributing to follow-up monitoring activities in space and astronomical observatories.Comment: Submitted to Acta Astronautic

Searching for Orbits for a Mission to the Asteroid 2001SN263 Considering Errors in the Physical Parameters

The main goal of this paper is to search for orbits that can be used in the Brazilian proposed Aster mission. This mission is under study and its objective is to use a spacecraft to observe the system 2001SN263, which is a triple asteroid system. With respect to the two-body problem (spacecraft and the main asteroid), the symmetries of the orbits are broken by the oblateness of the main body of the system, the solar radiation pressure, and the gravitational attraction of the two moons of the main body. Additionally, the masses of these two moons have errors associated with their predicted values, which reinforce the asymmetry and require extra effort to maintain the observational objectives of the mission. The idea is to find orbits that remain for some time observing the three bodies of that system, even if the physical parameters of the bodies are not the ones expected from observations made from the Earth. This is accomplished by studying the effects of errors in all the physical properties of the three asteroids in the trajectories described by a spacecraft that is orbiting this system. Several important and useful trajectories are found, which are the ones that can observe the desired bodies, even if the physical parameters are not the expected ones. To express our results, we built time histories of the relative distances between each of the asteroids and the spacecraft. They are used to select the trajectories according to the amount of time that we need to observe each body of the system. In this way, the first objective of this research is to search for trajectories to keep the spacecraft close to the three bodies of the system as long as possible, without requiring orbital maneuvers. The errors for the masses of the two smaller and lesser known bodies are taken into consideration, while the mass of the most massive one is assumed to be known, because it was determined with higher precision by observations

Controle de dissociação molecular com ferramentas de dinâmica não linear

The main objective of this work is to use the nonlinear dynamics theory in the control of the molecular dissociation through the introduction of dissipation in a literature well-known model that consists of an interatomic interaction potential and of a perturbation given by the interaction between the molecule dipole – electric field. This field may be from the photons, because the incidence of photons has already proved to be an effective tool in molecular dissociation. First of all, the study shows the possibility of the dissociation control without dissipation in very specific conditions. These conditions are generalized as the work makes the introduction of the dissipation, like the initial conditions, exposure time to the perturbation and possible values of the control parameters (constants in the motion equations), showing the benefits the dissipation can bring to the control and to the description of the molecular dissociation. The system is trapped in an attractor whose energy is enough to bring dissociation in case it is subjected to only the Morse potential interaction. This study also sweeps the parameters in order to show that the dissociation can also be controlled to a wide range of the values of the control parameters. This work makes a study based in the dissociation probability as a function of each control parameter so the results of this work can be compared with results of other works already known in the literatureO objetivo principal deste trabalho é utilizar a teoria de dinâmica não linear no controle da dissociação molecular através da introdução da dissipação em um modelo já bem conhecido na literatura, que consiste em um potencial de interação interatômico e uma perturbação na forma de interação dipolo – campo elétrico. Tal campo elétrico pode ser proveniente dos fótons, pois a incidência de fótons já mostrou ser uma ferramenta efetiva na dissociação molecular. Primeiramente, o estudo mostra a possibilidade de controle de dissociação sem dissipação para condições bastante específicas, em seguida tais condições são generalizadas com a introdução da dissipação, tais como condições iniciais, tempo de exposição à perturbação e possíveis valores dos parâmetros de controle (constantes nas equações de movimento), mostrando os benefícios que a dissipação pode trazer no controle e na descrição da dissociação molecular. O sistema é confinado em um atrator cuja energia seja suficiente para que haja dissociação caso o mesmo esteja submetido somente ao potencial de interação de Morse. É realizada também uma varredura nos parâmetros de controle, no intuito de mostrar que a dissociação também pode ser controlada em uma ampla gama de valores para estes parâmetros. Este trabalho ainda faz um estudo baseado na probabilidade de dissociação como função de cada parâmetro de controle, de maneira que os resultados deste são comparados com resultados de outros trabalhos já conhecidos na literaturaCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Introdução à dinâmica de rotação clássica

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Lifetimes of an Exomoon Orbiting a Jupiter-Like Planet in a Double Star System with the Mass of the Sun

The search for life outside Earth has been a popular topic for a long time in the scientific literature, but it gained more possibilities with the discovery of planets around other stars besides our Sun. In this sense, similarly to what happens in our Solar System, moons of planets sometimes offer good conditions for life if stable orbits for those moons exist. Thus, the present paper analyzes a system composed of a moon (with the mass of the Earth) orbiting a planet (with the mass of Jupiter), which is orbiting a double star system (whose total mass is equal to the mass of the Sun). It is an important topic because there is a large proportion of double stars in the universe. The initial conditions are given by a symmetric configuration of two circular orbits. Although this symmetry is broken due to the four body dynamics, the conditions in which the moon remains bound with the planet are investigated. The stability of the system is given by the survival of the orbit of the moon for an integration time of the order of 10,000 revolutions of the satellite around its mother planet. The regions of stable, unstable, and collision orbits are mapped, and empirical linear equations that separate those regions are obtained from the maps

Searching for Orbits for a Mission to the Asteroid 2001SN₂₆₃ Considering Errors in the Physical Parameters

The main goal of this paper is to search for orbits that can be used in the Brazilian proposed Aster mission. This mission is under study and its objective is to use a spacecraft to observe the system 2001SN263, which is a triple asteroid system. With respect to the two-body problem (spacecraft and the main asteroid), the symmetries of the orbits are broken by the oblateness of the main body of the system, the solar radiation pressure, and the gravitational attraction of the two moons of the main body. Additionally, the masses of these two moons have errors associated with their predicted values, which reinforce the asymmetry and require extra effort to maintain the observational objectives of the mission. The idea is to find orbits that remain for some time observing the three bodies of that system, even if the physical parameters of the bodies are not the ones expected from observations made from the Earth. This is accomplished by studying the effects of errors in all the physical properties of the three asteroids in the trajectories described by a spacecraft that is orbiting this system. Several important and useful trajectories are found, which are the ones that can observe the desired bodies, even if the physical parameters are not the expected ones. To express our results, we built time histories of the relative distances between each of the asteroids and the spacecraft. They are used to select the trajectories according to the amount of time that we need to observe each body of the system. In this way, the first objective of this research is to search for trajectories to keep the spacecraft close to the three bodies of the system as long as possible, without requiring orbital maneuvers. The errors for the masses of the two smaller and lesser known bodies are taken into consideration, while the mass of the most massive one is assumed to be known, because it was determined with higher precision by observations