Near-optimal cumulative longitude low-thrust orbit transfer

The indirect method for the continuous low-thrust near minimum cumulative longitude orbit transfer problem is addressed. The movement of the satellite is described by the Gauss equation using the modified equinoctial elements and replacing time as the system independent variable by the cumulative longitude. The maximum principle is adapted to design the optimal control in order to minimize the final cumulative longitude, and the two-point-boundary-value problem is derived from the orbit transfer problem. The single shooting method is applied in a numerical experiment, and the simulations demonstrate that the orbit transfer mission is fulfilled and the product of the maximal thrust and the minimum cumulative longitude is near constant.