• Journal of Space Technology and Applications
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• v.1 no.3
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• pp.302-318
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• 2021

A basic study was conducted on how to determine the launch timing of a space probe targeting an Earth-approaching asteroid. In the future, when a probe mission targeting an asteroid approaching Earth's orbit is conducted in Korea, in order to determine the launch time, an appropriate solution should be obtained by applying the Global Optimization technique. For this, accurate current orbit information of each asteroid must be obtained first, and prior scenarios such as Earth's orbit information, main engine performance information of the probe and launch vehicle, the number of gravity-assisted maneuvers, and maximum flight time limit should be discussed. Also, the criteria for optimization should be determined first. In this paper, based on these prerequisites and information, a method for finding the launch time of an asteroid probe was studied using the open source software such as PyKEP and Evolutionary Mission Trajectory Generator (EMTG) which are the programs for interplanetary trajectory generation purpose.