ABSTRACT
Exploration of small bodies in the solar system is among the most promising lines of space studies. This chapter presents the results of numerical analysis of different flight scheme options to comets and asteroids based on the approaches developed, and assesses the feasibility of the accomplishment of different types of missions. The selection of the reference orbits for the international project Earth–Venus–Halley's comet, accomplished in the mid-1980s, is used as an example to illustrate some features of mission design in the case of multi-purpose flights to small bodies. The energy required to boost the spacecraft for the flight from the orbit of an artificial satellite of Earth to the comet is determined by two main factors: perihelion altitude and the date of the comet passing through the orbital perihelion. The ballistic potential of the gravity assist maneuver at Earth make it possible to reach asteroids of the Main Belt, near-Earth and Jupiter groups.
