design space pruning heuristics and global optimization method for ...

equire low-thrust optimization by 6-7 orders of magnitude, as compared to the
number of asteroid sequences in the original problem.
The remainder of this dissertation is broken down into five chapters. Chapter 2
outlines the approach taken in developing the methodology, and presents results for each
of the techniques examined as applied to a small test problem with a known solution.
Chapter 3 presents the final methodology that was developed. Chapter 4 then validates
the methodology, by applying it to an intermediate-sized sample problem, also with a
known solution. Chapter 5 applies the methodology to two large problems – a modified
version of the GTOC3 problem and the GTOC2 problem. Finally, Chapter 6 presents a
summary and conclusions, along with recommendations for further work.
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