Low-thrust: the fast & flexible path to Apophis

By the time of Apophis' fly-by on Friday, April 13th, 2029, more satellites than have ever been launched since the beginning of the space age to this day will reach low Earth orbit (LEO). Almost all of them will be microsatellites of less than ~250 kg equipped with solar-electric propulsion (SEP). We propose the use of already created low-thrust trajectories to Apophis to help advance design trades in the early study phases of missions to Apophis. It appears that small spacecraft missions could benefit from solar-electric or sail propulsion.