Propulsion Systems for a Starshade Rendezvous Mission with the Habitable World Observatory

Abstract

We assess how propulsion and operational constraints affect exo-Earth characterization with a starshade rendezvous mission for a Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO)-like telescope at Sun-Earth L2. Using end-to-end Monte Carlo simulations with EXOSIMS, we model a 60 m starshade for visible-band spectroscopy (500-1000 nm) and a 35 m starshade for near-ultraviolet characterization (250-550 nm). For the 60 m design, we compare AEPS Hall, NEXT ion, and Starlink-class Hall thrusters and examine sensitivity to propellant capacity, the fraction of each retargeting slew spent accelerating and decelerating, and on-orbit refueling. With 1000-3000 kg of initial propellant and no refueling, NEXT provides the highest characterization yield: 9-13% more characterizations than AEPS and 13-16% more than the Starlink-class option. Its higher specific impulse enables more retargeting slews per kilogram of propellant. With refueling, yields converge across thruster choices to about 120 cumulative characterizations over 10 years, while propulsion choice mainly affects the number of refueling events. For the 35 m starshade with AEPS, yields are less sensitive to fuel and are dominated by mission duration and geometric accessibility. Increasing the minimum solar keepout angle from 40 to 50 degrees has little effect on yield; increases from 50 to 65 degrees have a modest effect, while angles above 65 degrees rapidly reduce yield, with severe degradation near 80 degrees. These results distinguish fuel-limited and time- or keepout-limited regimes and guide propulsion selection, tank sizing, refueling policy, and keepout constraints for HWO starshade missions.