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Mission design for LISA Pathfinder

M. Landgraf·M. Hechler·S. Kemble
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Abstract

Here we describe the mission design for SMART-2/LISA Pathfinder. The best trade-off between the requirements of a low-disturbance environment and communications distance is found to be a free-insertion Lissajous orbit around the first co-linear Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system L1, 1.5x 10^6 km from Earth. In order to transfer SMART-2/LISA Pathfinder from a low Earth orbit, where it will be placed by a small launcher, the spacecraft carries out a number of apogee-raise manoeuvres, which ultimatively place it to a parabolic escape trajectory towards L1. The challenges of the design of a small mission are met, fulfilling the very demanding technology demonstration requirements without creating excessive requirements on the launch system or the ground segment.

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M. Landgraf, M. Hechler, S. Kemble. 2004-11-15. Mission design for LISA Pathfinder. https://doi.org/10.1088/0264-9381%2F22%2F10%2F048

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