Semi-analytic construction of global transfers between quasi-periodic orbits in the spatial R3BP

Consider the spatial restricted three-body problem, as a model for the motion of a spacecraft relative to the Sun-Earth system. We focus on the dynamics near the equilibrium point $L_1$, located between the Sun and the Earth. We show that we can transfer the spacecraft from a quasi-periodic orbit that is nearly planar relative to the ecliptic to a quasi-periodic orbit that has large out-of-plane amplitude, at zero energy cost. (In fact, the final orbit has the maximum out-of-plane amplitude that can be obtained through the particular mechanism that we consider. Moreover, the transfer can be made through any prescribed sequence of quasi-periodic orbits in between). Our transfer mechanism is based on selecting trajectories homoclinic to a normally hyperbolic invariant manifold (NHIM) near $L_1$, and then gluing them together. We provide several explicit constructions of such transfers, and also develop an algorithm to design trajectories that achieve the \emph{shortest transfer time} for this particular mechanism. The change in the out-of-plane amplitude along a homoclic trajectory can be described via the scattering map. We develop a new tool, the `Standard Scattering Map' (SSM), which is a series representation of the exact scattering map. We use the SSM to obtain a complete description of the dynamics along homoclinic trajectories. The SSM can be used in many other situations, from Arnold diffusion problems to transport phenomena in applications.
Comment: 64 pages, 23 figures, 4 tables