GTOC 13
13th Global Trajectory Optimisation Competition
The Altaira system represents one of the most intriguing and complex exoplanetary systems in our stellar neighborhood. Decades of remote sensing and astronomical observations from Earth and its vicinity have only deepened our curiosity, revealing a diverse collection of worlds unlike anything in our own solar system. Among these are multiple planets located within the habitable zone, as well as other planets that do not have solar system analogues, such as the massive planet Vulcan that orbits the star in a very close orbit – a so called “Hot Jupiter”. At the heart of this system lies Altaira, a star slightly brighter and more massive than our Sun.
Fortunately, long ago, in a bold act of interstellar foresight, a small robotic spacecraft was placed on a many-year transit trajectory to explore this system in depth. Now, as the spacecraft nears its destination, your task begins: to design a multi-decade tour design to maximize our understanding of the system. Much of the enormous interstellar relative velocity will be removed before the final approach when our problem begins, however the spacecraft may still arrive with a high incoming velocity far from the target system. As a result, the first problem is to achieve capture into orbit around Altaira. The larger the incoming velocity the faster the spacecraft can start the tour but the harder it is to capture. The spacecraft end-of-life depends on battery decay and is therefore a fixed date. Due to the extraordinary cost of interstellar transport, virtually no chemical propellant remains upon arrival. This means that the tour must rely entirely on ballistic, propellant-less gravity assists, and, optionally, solar-sail maneuvers. Slower flybys allow for greater science return and are therefore more highly valued. Furthermore, repeated flybys during different seasons best complete our understanding of each body.
All in all, your challenge is to design this unprecedented, long-term robotic exploration campaign and unveil the secrets of the Altaira system with a careful choreography of planetary flybys.
Intrepid GTOC Explorers will find the full problem specification in the download:
Teams are encouraged to use the Discussion section (link at left) to discuss aspects of the problem with the GTOC community. In particular, newcomers to astrodynamics (and here we mean spacecraft trajectory design) may like to engage with the community in the spirit of an open competition for help with some of the terminology and other facets that may be foreign to them.