ISEE-3/ICE - A space odyssey

A mission analysis and evaluation is presented for the ISEE-3/International Cometary Explorer spacecraft, whose primary tasks were the gathering of observational data on sun-earth and geomagnetic train interactions and, in due course, the pursuit of cometary exploration. The optimization of ISEE-3's mission trajectory was rendered exceptionally complex by the combination of onboard propulsion with multiple lunar gravitation assists; innumerable numerical integrations were undertaken to arrive at acceptable solutions. Attention is presently given to the sun-earth libration points, 'halo' orbits, cometary capture and escape phenomena, and the heliocentric orbits obtained upon escape from earth gravity.