Mission analysis of a low-thrust propulsion spacecraft for commercial in-orbit servicing missions

This study is the result of a 6 months Internship at D-Orbit S.p.A., that lasted for the period going from July 2022, to December 2022. The work covered the analysis of the mission and the design and optimization of the trajectories for a spacecraft intended for In-Orbit Servicing operations in the GEO belt. The analyses performed cover the design of the entire mission life cycle, from launch to decommissioning. The work is divided into three macro-components: the first in which the spacecraft and mission are described in detail, to clarify the peculiarities of the mission and the systems available for its accomplishment. In a second chapter, the methodologies and approaches used for the analysis will be described, together with the main issues encountered in terms of resolution methodology. The third part will constitute the heart of this work, containing the proper mission analysis, and the numerical results of the complete mission profile studied. It is of the utmost importance to emphasise that the data reported in this study are of a confidential nature, and although consistent with the type of analysis described, are in no way to be traced back to the actual mission, as they have been modified at the root.