Prospects for Using the Halo-Orbit in the Vicinity of the L2 Libration Point of the Sun–Earth System for the Ground-Space Millimetron Radio Interferometer

Abstract This paper presents an analysis of the possibility of performing VLBI (Very Long Base Interferometry) observations in the halo-orbit near the L2 libration point of the Sun–(Earth + Moon) system. This orbit is intended to be used by the Millimetron ground–space radio interferometer. This orbit is shown to provide a slow evolution of UV-coverage, and the majority of sources do not have small baseline projections throughout the mission. The problem of effective use of observational time is also revealed. The obtained results are generalized to the entire family of halo-orbits, as well as to the Lissajous family of orbits.