The problem of the transfer of a spacecraft with maximum payload from a fixed circular orbit to a given noncoplanar circular orbit in a spherical gravity field is solved. The spacecraft is equipped with constant-power electric propulsion and energy storage. The cases of variable-thrust and constant-thrust propulsion are considered. The increase in the payload mass due to the energy storage is estimated in both cases. The optimal time dependence of controls and the optimal relations between the mass parameters of the propulsion system are established. The ranges of these parameters where it makes sense to store energy are identified
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Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 46, No. 3, pp. 114–123, March 2010.
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Tkachenko, Y.V. Optimization of constant- and variable-thrust propulsion systems. Int Appl Mech 46, 340–347 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10778-010-0315-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10778-010-0315-3