Electric Propulsion System Selection Process for Interplanetary Missions

The disparate design problems of selecting an electric propulsion system, launch vehicle, and flight time all have significant im pact s on the cost and robustness of a mission. The effects of these system choices combine into a single optimization of the total mission cost , where t he design constraint is a req uired spacecraft neutral (non -electric pro pulsion) mass . C ost optimal systems are designed for a range of mass margins to examine how the optimal design varies with mass growth . The resulting cost -optimal designs are compared with results generated via m ass optimization methods. Additional optimizations with continuous system param eters address the impact on mission cost due to discrete set s of launch vehicle, power, and specific impulse . The examined mission set comprises a near -Earth asteroid sample return, multiple main belt asteroid rendezvous , comet rendezv ous, comet sample return, and a mission to Saturn .