• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.281-288
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• 2017

The first Korea lunar orbiter, Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO), has been in development since 2016. After launch, the KPLO will execute several maneuvers to enter into the lunar mission orbit, and will then perform lunar science missions for one year. Among these maneuvers, the lunar orbit insertion (LOI) is the most critical maneuver because the KPLO will experience an extreme velocity change in the presence of the Moon's gravitational pull. However, the lunar orbiter may have a delayed LOI burn during operation due to hardware limitations and telemetry delays. This delayed burn could occur in different captured lunar orbits; in the worst case, the KPLO could fly away from the Moon. Therefore, in this study, the burn delay for the first LOI maneuver is analyzed to successfully enter the desired lunar orbit. Numerical simulations are performed to evaluate the difference between the desired and delayed lunar orbits due to a burn delay in the LOI maneuver. Based on this analysis, critical factors in the LOI maneuver, the periselene altitude and orbit period, are significantly changed and an additional delta-V in the second LOI maneuver is required as the delay burn interval increases to 10 min from the planned maneuver epoch.

• Aerospace Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.96-107
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• 2014

Korea Aerospace Research Institute has a plan to launch experimental lunar orbiter in 2017, and lunar orbiter and lander in 2020. In the mission planning phase, LOI(Lunar Orbit Insertion) maneuver strategy should be designed using finite burn model because on-board propulsion system of lunar orbiter in finite burn type. LOI maneuver plan and amount of required ${\Delta}V$ using finite burn model depend on the spacecraft attitude at burn, a type of propellant, thrust level and burn timing. This paper describes the LOI maneuver of lunar orbiter of foreign space agency and then comes up with the LOI maneuver plan of Korean lunar orbiter. Adequate thrust level and burn duration of Korean lunar orbiter also present by performing simulation.

• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.16-22
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• 2015

Korea Aerospace Research Institute(here after KARI) has a plan to launch experimental lunar orbiter in 2018, and lunar orbiter and lander in 2020. There are several ways to go to the moon. Which one is direct transfer trajectory and another one is phasing loop transfer trajectory and the other one is WSB trajectory. Regardless of the transfer trajectories, LOI maneuver is the most important maneuver of all mission sequences because if this burn is failed, it is too difficult to get into the lunar orbit in the future. This paper describes first LOI target value of foreign lunar orbiters and analyzes orbital variations of experimental lunar orbiter according to various target values. By analyzing the variation of orbiter parameter after first LOI, proper orbital period for LOI target value are recommended to meet the inclination, apoapsis and periapsis altitude constraints.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.323-333
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• 2016

In this study, the uncertainty requirements for orbit, attitude, and burn performance were estimated and analyzed for the execution of the $1^{st}$ lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver of the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) mission. During the early design phase of the system, associate analysis is an essential design factor as the $1^{st}$ LOI maneuver is the largest burn that utilizes the onboard propulsion system; the success of the lunar capture is directly affected by the performance achieved. For the analysis, the spacecraft is assumed to have already approached the periselene with a hyperbolic arrival trajectory around the moon. In addition, diverse arrival conditions and mission constraints were considered, such as varying periselene approach velocity, altitude, and orbital period of the capture orbit after execution of the $1^{st}$ LOI maneuver. The current analysis assumed an impulsive LOI maneuver, and two-body equations of motion were adapted to simplify the problem for a preliminary analysis. Monte Carlo simulations were performed for the statistical analysis to analyze diverse uncertainties that might arise at the moment when the maneuver is executed. As a result, three major requirements were analyzed and estimated for the early design phase. First, the minimum requirements were estimated for the burn performance to be captured around the moon. Second, the requirements for orbit, attitude, and maneuver burn performances were simultaneously estimated and analyzed to maintain the $1^{st}$ elliptical orbit achieved around the moon within the specified orbital period. Finally, the dispersion requirements on the B-plane aiming at target points to meet the target insertion goal were analyzed and can be utilized as reference target guidelines for a mid-course correction (MCC) maneuver during the transfer. More detailed system requirements for the KPLO mission, particularly for the spacecraft bus itself and for the flight dynamics subsystem at the ground control center, are expected to be prepared and established based on the current results, including a contingency trajectory design plan.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.195-204
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• 2010

The optimal Earth-Moon transfer trajectory considering spacecraft's visibility from the Daejeon ground station visibility at both the trans lunar injection (TLI) and lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuvers is designed. Both the TLI and LOI maneuvers are assumed to be impulsive thrust. As the successful execution of the TLI and LOI maneuvers are crucial factors among the various lunar mission parameters, it is necessary to design an optimal lunar transfer trajectory which guarantees the visibility from a specified ground station while executing these maneuvers. The optimal Earth-Moon transfer trajectory is simulated by modifying the Korean Lunar Mission Design Software using Impulsive high Thrust Engine (KLMDS-ITE) which is developed in previous studies. Four different mission scenarios are established and simulated to analyze the effects of the spacecraft's visibility considerations at the TLI and LOI maneuvers. As a result, it is found that the optimal Earth-Moon transfer trajectory, guaranteeing the spacecraft's visibility from Daejeon ground station at both the TLI and LOI maneuvers, can be designed with slight changes in total amount of delta-Vs. About 1% difference is observed with the optimal trajectory when none of the visibility condition is guaranteed, and about 0.04% with the visibility condition is only guaranteed at the time of TLI maneuver. The spacecraft's mass which can delivered to the Moon, when both visibility conditions are secured is shown to be about 534 kg with assumptions of KSLV-2's on-orbit mass about 2.6 tons. To minimize total mission delta-Vs, it is strongly recommended that visibility conditions at both the TLI and LOI maneuvers should be simultaneously implemented to the trajectory optimization algorithm.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
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• v.41 no.12
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• pp.950-958
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• 2013

The Lunar orbiter is expected to be inserted into a ~300km low Earth orbit using Korea Space Launch Vehicle-II(KSLV-II). After the states are successfully determined with obtained tracking data, the Trans Lunar Injection(TLI) burn has to be done at appropriate epoch to send the lunar orbiter to the Moon. In this study, we describe in detail the mission scenario of the Korean lunar orbiter from the launch at NARO Space Center to lunar orbit insertion(LOI) stage following direct transfer trajectory. We investigate the launch window including launch azimuth, delta-V profile according to TLI and LOI burn positions. We also depict the visibility conditions of ground stations and solar eclipse duration to understand the characteristics of the direct transfer trajectory. This paper can be also helpful not only for overall understanding of ${\Delta}V$ trend by changing TOF and coasting time but for selecting launch epoch and control parameters to decrease fuel consumption.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.331-342
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• 2017

To ensure the successful launch of the Korea pathfinder lunar orbiter (KPLO) mission, the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) is now performing extensive trajectory design and analysis studies. From the trajectory design perspective, it is crucial to prepare contingency trajectory options for the failure of the first lunar brake or the failure of the first lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver. As part of the early phase trajectory design and analysis activities, the required time of flight (TOF) and associated delta-V magnitudes for each recovery maneuver (RM) to recover the KPLO mission trajectory are analyzed. There are two typical trajectory recovery options, direct recovery and low energy recovery. The current work is focused on the direct recovery option. Results indicate that a quicker execution of the first RM after the failure of the first LOI plays a significant role in saving the magnitudes of the RMs. Under the conditions of the extremely tight delta-V budget that is currently allocated for the KPLO mission, it is found that the recovery of the KPLO without altering the originally planned mission orbit (a 100 km circular orbit) cannot be achieved via direct recovery options. However, feasible recovery options are suggested within the boundaries of the currently planned delta-V budget. By changing the shape and orientation of the recovered final mission orbit, it is expected that the KPLO mission may partially pursue its scientific mission after successful recovery, though it will be limited.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.293-306
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• 2019

In this study, the observational arc-length effect on orbit determination (OD) for the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) in the Earth-Moon Transfer phase was investigated. For the OD, we employed a sequential estimation using the extended Kalman filter and a fixed-point smoother. The mission periods, comprised between the perigee maneuvers (PM) and the lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver in a 3.5 phasing loop of the KPLO, was the primary target. The total period was divided into three phases: launch-PM1, PM1-PM3, and PM3-LOI. The Doppler and range data obtained from three tracking stations [included in the deep space network (DSN) and Korea Deep Space Antenna (KDSA)] were utilized for the OD. Six arc-length cases (24 hrs, 48 hrs, 60 hrs, 3 days, 4 days, and 5 days) were considered for the arc-length effect investigation. In order to evaluate the OD accuracy, we analyzed the position uncertainties, the precision of orbit overlaps, and the position differences between true and estimated trajectories. The maximum performance of 3-day OD approach was observed in the case of stable flight dynamics operations and robust navigation capability. This study provides a guideline for the flight dynamics operations of the KPLO in the trans-lunar phase.

• Bulletin of the Korean Space Science Society
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• 2008.10a
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• pp.25.3-26
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• 2008

The direct way to the moon is to start from the parking orbit by using impulsive thruster In previous domestic research, the direct way has been studied by using a single impulsive shot. However, when a single impulsive shot occurs to go into a Translunar orbit, gravity losses occur because thruster is not impulsive shot but the finite burns and it causes the gravity losses. To make up for the weak point of a single impulsive shot, this paper divides TLI (Trans Lunar Injection) into several small burns. Therefore, departure loop trajectory and the Translunar trajectory. This method is useful not only to reduce the gravity losses but also to check the condition of satellite. By using this method, this paper demostrates the optimized trajectory from Earth parking orbit to lunar mission orbit which minimizes the fuel, and the SNOPT (Sparse Nonlinear OPTimizer software) is used to find optimal solution. Also, this paper provides lunar mission profile which includes the mission schedule when TLI, LOI (Lunar Orbit Insertion) maneuvers occur, a mount of fuel when thruster is used and other mission parameters.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.43-60
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• 2024

Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) is South Korea's first space exploration mission, developed by the Korea Aerospace Research Institute. It aims to develop technologies for lunar exploration, explore lunar science, and test new technologies. KPLO was launched on August 5, 2022, by a Falcon-9 launch vehicle from cape canaveral space force station (CCSFS) in the United States and placed on a ballistic lunar transfer (BLT) trajectory. A total of four trajectory correction maneuvers were performed during the approximately 4.5-month trans-lunar cruise phase to reach the Moon. Starting with the first lunar orbit insertion (LOI) maneuver on December 16, the spacecraft performed a total of three maneuvers before arriving at the lunar mission orbit, at an altitude of 100 kilometers, on December 27, 2022. After entering lunar orbit, the commissioning phase validated the operation of the mission mode, in which the payload is oriented toward the center of the Moon. After completing about one month of commissioning, normal mission operations began, and each payload successfully performed its planned mission. All of the spacecraft operations that KPLO performs from launch to normal operations were designed through the system operations design process. This includes operations that are automatically initiated post-separation from the launch vehicle, as well as those in lunar transfer orbit and lunar mission orbit. Key operational procedures such as the spacecraft's initial checkout, trajectory correction maneuvers, LOI, and commissioning were developed during the early operation preparation phase. These procedures were executed effectively during both the early and normal operation phases. The successful execution of these operations confirms the robust verification of the system operation.