Transfer of a Dynamic Object onto the Surface of an Ellipsoid

Abstract

Using Pontryagin’s maximum principle, the problem of the quickest transfer of a multidimensional object onto the surface of an ellipsoid is reduced to solving a scalar algebraic equation. The concentration of the endpoints of optimal trajectories in the vicinity of the points forming the boundary in the case of a degenerate ellipsoid is demonstrated. An example in which the optimal control has a jump and the Bellman function has a discontinuity when the magnitude of the initial velocity vector undergoes a small change is constructed. It is also shown that the jump in the optimal control can occur without the discontinuity of the Bellman function.