ar X iv : g r - qc / 0 41 10 71 v 1 1 5 N ov 2 00 4 Mission design for LISA Pathfinder

Here we describe the mission design for SMART-2/LISA Pathfinder. The best trade-off between the requirements of a low-disturbance environment and communications distance is found to be a free-insertion Lissajous orbit around the first co-linear Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system (L 1), 1.5 × 10 6 km from Earth. In order to transfer SMART-2/LISA Pathfinder from a low Earth orbit, where it will be placed by a small launcher, the spacecraft carries out a number of apogee-raise manoeuvres, which ultimatively place it to a parabolic escape trajectory towards L 1. The challenges of the design of a small mission are met, fulfilling the very demanding technology demonstration requirements without creating excessive requirements on the launch system or the ground segment.