BALLISTIC NAVIGATIONAL FLIGHT CALCULATIONS FOR THE PHOBOS AUTOMATED INTERPLANETARY SPACECRAFT

The features of ballistic navigational flight calculations for the Phobos automated interplanetary spacecraft are examined. The main factors underlying the choice of the flight scheme and its practical realization are discussed. The most important and fundamental results obtained from the spacecraft flight are outlined. These include a new method of spacecraft navigation using television pictures of a celestial body of complex shape, the formulation of a new, precise theory of Phobos motion, and a practical solution to the three-body problem: the launching of the Phobos spacecraft into a stable quasisatellite orbit of Phobos.