Coast Arc

Author: Tianjiang Shuo

Website: https://cislunarspace.cn

Definition

Segments of a trajectory where the engine is off and the spacecraft coasts freely. Optimal low-thrust trajectories typically consist of alternating thrust and coast arcs.

Application Value

滑行弧是地月空间研究的基础概念，为理解更复杂的航天器动力学问题提供了理论支撑 在实际工程应用中，滑行弧的准确计算和分析对于任务成功至关重要 掌握滑行弧的概念有助于工程师进行轨道设计和任务规划 滑行弧为航天器轨道力学研究提供了基本框架，是进一步学习高级概念的基础

Related Concepts

• Bang推力剖面
• 春分点
• L1同伦法

References

• Zhang et al. - 2025 - Smoothing technique for indirect low-thrust trajectory optimization in cislunar space