Approach strategies for inserting into Enceladus science orbit configurations

A variety of science orbit configurations have been proposed for a future Enceladus-orbiting mission. Inserting a spacecraft into these orbits requires performing one or more maneuvers to transfer from the endgame conditions of the Saturn-centric moon-tour to the desired configuration. In this work, two different methods are proposed for computing these transfers. In the first method, by taking into account the multibody dynamics of the system, the spacecraft can be inserted onto a stable manifold of an unstable staging orbit, and then transfer from this staging orbit to the science orbit. In the second method, a single insertion maneuver is performed at either the apoapse or periapse location of the desired science orbit to directly enter into the orbit. Results show that inserting into each of the different science configurations requires roughly similar Δ V costs, and that the multibody method can reduce the insertion cost when compared to the direct insertion method for all cases. • Two methods are proposed to insert into Enceladus science orbit configurations. • The first method uses the multibody dynamics of the Saturn-Enceladus system. • The second method involves directly inserting into the science orbit. • Propellant costs for the two methods are computed and evaluated. • The methods could be applied to other planetary moon missions.