Chaotic motion of a cylindrical body during contactless transportation from MEO to LEO by ion beam

The attitude dynamics of a cylindrical body under the action of an ion beam generated by the low-thrust engine of an active spacecraft is studied. The aim of the work is the analysis of chaotic and regular attitude motion of the body during contactless transportation. The eccentricity of the orbit could cause chaotic motion of the system. A simplified mathematical model, which describes the motion of a cylinder under the action of an ion beam, was developed. A bifurcation diagram was constructed. It allows judgment of the number and type of singular points of the phase portrait of an unperturbed system depending on the ratio between gravitational and ionic influences. An analysis of the chaotic motion was carried out using Poincare sections and Lyapunov exponents. It shows that in the process of contactless transportation from MEO to LEO, the cylinder can become uncontrollable from the oscillation motion mode to the rotation mode. The orientation of the body in the ion beam affects the magnitude and direction of the ion beam force vector; thus, the body angular motion mode affects the time duration of the performed orbital maneuver and the magnitude of the required fuel.