The Deep Space Flight Manual

Author: Duncan Sharpe November 2003 . This manual is hereby gifted to the public domain.

An accompaniment to the Orbiter Space flight simulator.

This manual is all about ho to plan a long!haul space flight. "t covers the basic principles# and also ho to pac$age them together into typical manoevres that you%ll perform to get here you%re going. &nce you%ve read it# you%ll $no everything that you need to visit planets in as fuel!efficient a manner as possible.

Table of Contents
' (asic &rbits....................................................................................................................................... ' 2 A potted description of the Solar system...........................................................................................2 3 The principles of efficient flight........................................................................................................2 3.' Three elliptical orbit e)periments....................................................................................... 2 *)periment ' + changing the inclination....................................................................... 3 *)periment 2 + brea$ing a ay.......................................................................................3 *)periment 3. The long and the short. ..........................................................................3 , The -ohmann transfer....................................................................................................................... , ,.' Some complications to the -ohmann transfer.................................................................... , The planets aren.t al ays aligned.................................................................................. , The orbits aren.t circular................................................................................................ , The orbits aren.t coplanar.............................................................................................. , / 0eaving a planet................................................................................................................................ / 1 2utting it together + Trans3 flight plan '........................................................................................../ -o to get started.......................................................................................................... 1 1.'Telling Trans3 the plan in outline....................................................................................... 1 4oing from *arth to 5ars..............................................................................................1 4oing from *arth to the 5oon...................................................................................... 1 4oing from *arth to Titan............................................................................................. 1 6oyager..........................................................................................................................1 1.2 7reating the -ohmann transfer........................................................................................... 8 Trans3 has a colour scheme.......................................................................................... 8 8 Departing from *arth.........................................................................................................................9 9 7ourse corrections in Trans3............................................................................................................9 :hen should " ma$e course corrections;...................................................................... 9 "s there an easier ay to do course corrections;............................................................< 5a$ing course corrections.............................................................................................< < The standard =2ioneer style> slingshot orbit......................................................................................< <.' The periapsis burn refinement...........................................................................................'0 <.2 Doing slingshots ith Trans3...........................................................................................'0 '0 The giant planet arrival ellipse...................................................................................................... '0 ?eversing the process;.................................................................................................'' '' ?esonant encounters......................................................................................................................'' ''.' The simple resonant encounter........................................................................................'' ''.2 The .apoapsis burn. variant..............................................................................................'' '2 @eedbac$........................................................................................................................................'2

1 Basic Orbits.
-ere are a fe things "%m going to assume you $no . Aou%ve probably pic$ed up most of this if you%ve ta$en a spacecraft to the "SS. Periapsis. This is the lo est point on an orbit# and the place here your velocity =relative to the central body> hits its ma)imum.

Apoapsis. This is the highest point on an orbit# and the place here your velocity =relative to the central body> is at a minimum. Prograde. Directly for ard along your orbit. Retrograde. Directly bac$ ard along your orbit. All simple orbits are conic sections. *ither an orbit is elliptical# or hyperbolic. All simple orbits fit into a plane (a flat surface.) The flat surface al ays passes through the centre of the body being orbited. T o bodies in orbit are typically in different orbital planes. The planes intersect along a line. Ellipses have eccentricities ranging from 0 to 1. :hen eccentricity is close to 0# the orbit is virtually circular. As it approaches '# the orbit becomes much longer than it is ide. *lliptical orbits are periodic + they ta$e an e)act length of time to go round. Hyperbolic orbits have eccentricities greater than 1. All hyperbolic orbits are unbound + they approach a planet from a distance# s ing around it# and depart to great distance. -yperbolic orbits ith lo er eccentricity s ing the craft through a ide angle as it passes the planet. -igh eccentricity orbits are virtually straight lines. Any orbit has a fi ed energy! and a fi ed angular momentum + "%ll say more about this later. The energy is also directly related to the distance bet een periapsis and apoapsis.

2 A potted description of the Solar system

The Solar system consists of the Sun# and a comparatively small amount of debris e call the planets. The Sun eighs more than a thousand times as much as all the planets put together. The bac$ground to your travels in &rbiter is the therefore the immense gravitational ell of the Sun. :here you are sitting right no # *arth%s escape velocity is about ''.3$mBsec. (ut escaping from the Sun at this distance reCuires si)teen times as much energy + a velocity of ,, $mBsec. The planets themselves have also been described as consisting of Dupiter plus debris. "t.s almost true ! Saturn is also Cuite large. *arth eighs three hundred times less than Dupiter# but is still the largest planet ith a solid surface to land on. The planets move fast + *arth travels around the Sun at around 2< $ilometres per second + a speed that ould reCuire something li$e an 9 stage roc$et to reach E The only reason interplanetary travel is possible ith our technology is that the solar system is shaped li$e a panca$e. All the planets are more or less in the same orbital plane# and travel around the solar system in the same direction. This ma$es the *arth%s speed an advantage rather than an obstacle. The Solar system can broadly be divided into t o parts + the inner and outer planets. "nner planets are 5ercury# 6enus# *arth and 5ars. &uter planets are Dupiter# Saturn# Franus and Neptune. =2luto# as usual# doesn.t count.> "nner planets are small and move fast. :here they live# the Sun%s gravity dominates everything. "t%s important to use precise transfer orbits in this region if you ant to avoid some very high speed encounters. The outer planets# being further from the Sun# move more slo ly. They are also much heavier. These t o facts ma$e it much easier to use slingshot traGectories. -o ever# they are also a long ay a ay + e)pect any Gourney to ta$e years of simulated time# and hours of computer timeE As you%ll see# their eight ma$es it easier to stop hen you reach them# so accurate -ohmann transfers are =fortunatelyE> not essential. Dupiter is almost in a category by itself + its siHe ma$es it the ideal aypoint on Cuite a fe Gourneys. A slingshot from Dupiter is orth more than t o hole stages of roc$et fuel.

3 The principles of efficient flight

3.1 Three elliptical orbit experiments.
Aou probably have a fe scenarios on your computer featuring a Deltaglider in lo earth orbit + perhaps doc$ed to "SS. Suppose you too$ one of these gliders# and carried out a long prograde burn.

Aour orbit ould gradually become more elliptical. 0et.s suppose you $ept burning until the orbit 5@D reports you no have an ellipse that ta$es bet een '00#000 and '/0#000 seconds to go around. "f you ant to carry out these .e)periments. for real# set up an ellipse li$e this# and then save the scenario.

Experiment 1 changing the inclination.

Aou go around the orbit to apoapsis =using careful time acceleration>. Aou then =carefullyE> change your relative inclination to the "SS by 20%. Aou have to be careful# as it doesn%t ta$e long. Aou then return to 2eriapsis again. &nce there# you carry out another burn# and change the relative inclination bac$ to 0% again. This ill no reCuire a much# much larger burn + probably about 30 times larger than the earlier one. ?esult: The fuel reCuired to change the inclination is directly proportional to your angular velocity around a planet. "t can be very much cheaper to change it at apoapsis than at periapsis. "pace flight principle 1 7hanging inclination is best done hen moving slo ly + the fuel reCuired is proportional to the component of your velocity that.s around the planet.

Experiment 2 breaking a a!
Aou go around to apoapsis# and save the scenario. Aou then burn prograde# and time ho long it ta$es before you reach escape velocity =your orbit becomes hyperbolic>. Fsing a saved scenario# you try the same thing on the same orbit at periapsis# and time ho long it ta$es from there. ?esult: This time the burn at periapsis is the shorter one# and by a large margin. The fuel reCuired to increase your orbital energy is inversely proportional to your velocity. "pace flight principle #$ 7hange your orbit%s energy hen moving Cuic$ly. *nergy increase is proportional to your velocity.

Experiment ". The long an# the short.

There%s one more result "%ll Gust tell you about. Suppose you create t o scenarios# one ith an ellipse reaching from lo orbit to /0#000 $ilometres# and another reaching from lo orbit to '00#000 $ilometres. Suppose you reach Apoapsis on both orbits. :hich orbit can raise 2eriapsis ith the shortest burn; The ans er here is that the longer orbit is t ice as efficient as the short one. :hat you are doing here is changing angular momentum# and the efficiency of that process is directly proportional to your distance. "pace flight principle %$ 7hanging your periapsis height or position is also best done hen far a ay + the cost is inversely proportional to your distance. These three principles tell you most of hat you need to plan efficient flight. There is only a one other principle " ant to cover no . "pace flight principle &. &nly prograde acceleration changes your energy. 7hanging the energyBsiHe of your orbit reCuires you to thrust along your direction of travel. Thrusting at right angles to it changes your direction# but not your velocity# and# therefore# not your energy.

0et.s put all of these principles together# and figure out some basic manoevres.

4 The

ohmann transfer

The inventor of the -ohmann transfer as a mathematician ! Dr. :alter -ohmann# ho realised its effectiveness bac$ in '<2/ + ell before anyone as in a position to actually use such a thing. 2erhaps he ould be surprised to learn that his transfer is no the best!$no n of all spacecraft manoevres. "n its most basic form# a -ohmann transfer is a simple ellipse connecting t o orbits. To travel from the inner planet to the outer one# all you need to do is to increase speed a bit. The craft ill naturally coast out ards# and if done correctly# ill encounter the other planet.s orbit half an orbit later. There.s then a need to match speeds ith the target planet# and you.re done. "f it as as simple as that# roc$et science ouldn.t be roc$et science# but it.s a good start. 0et.s see ho it fits in ith our principles of navigation. @irstly# both manoevres that the spacecraft has to ma$e are purely prograde. That ma$es them =by principle ,> pretty efficient at raising the energy of the spacecraft.s orbit# and thus its siHe. The first manoevre raises the apoapsis out as far as the target orbit# and the second one =at the ne apoapsis> raises periapsis. So# e already $no that the manoevre.s pretty efficient in hat it does. The manoevre also ma$es e)cellent use of the e)isting motion of both planets. (oth planets are already moving in the same direction as you ish to go# so in both cases the change in direction and speed is small. That.s hat ma$es the -ohmann transfer good.

4.1 Some complications to the

The planets aren$t al a!s aligne#.

ohmann transfer

Aou can launch from *arth at any time and reach the orbit of 5ars. -o ever# the orbit of 5ars is about /00 milion miles long. ?eaching 5ars.s orbit is not much use if 5ars itself is several hundred million miles a ay on the other side of the orbit. Sensible -ohmann transfers are therefore timed in such a ay that the craft ill encounter 5ars hen it arrives# and not Gust a mathematical line in space. This reCuires the calculation of a launch indo . "f you start a -ohmann transfer at precisely the right time# you ill also find 5ars hen you arrive at 5ars.s orbit. The right time to launch is usually hen 5ars is Gust in front of *arth on its orbit# and is about to be overta$en by it. These launch indo s come along =in 5ars.s case> about every t enty months or so.

The orbits aren$t circular.

2lanet orbits aren.t circular. This might seem li$e a maGor problem# but in practice it usually turns out not to be too troublesome. At least# not compared to the ne)t problem.

The orbits aren$t coplanar.

This one causes problems. The reason hy it does can be seen by loo$ing at a -ohmann transfer from a different angle. "f you start from a given planet at a given time# all orbits of a certain siHe that start from there converge on the same spot '90. around from the start. The result is rather li$e that pictured over on the right. "n practice# this means that a pure -ohmann transfer also needs a plane change manoevre to be added in at some point during the Gourney. Sometimes this is actually done# but very often a better solution is not to do a perfect -ohmann transfer. "f a slightly imperfect manoevre is carried out instead# the intercept ith the target isn.t '90. around from the start any more# and a plane change manoevre can be or$ed in from the beginning. The fact that planet orbits aren.t completely circular also helps in this.

Another thing that really helps is that the orbits of the planets are acturally Cuite close to coplanar# and a modest plane change isn.t usually too hard to fit in. :ith these facts in mind# it.s not too hard to plan a successful -ohmann =or close to -ohmann> transfer# but there.s one other essential manoevre to learn about first.

! "ea#ing a planet.
Dust as ith travelling bet een planets# there.s a right and a rong ay to do this. The right ay is to use space flight principle 2# and adGust energy hen moving Cuic$ly. Therefore e ant to do this hen as much of our energy as possible is in the form of speed# and as little as practically possible is in the form of altitude. "n short# the best method is to ma$e the burn direct from lo earth orbit. Any other method you may have come across isn.t anything li$e as efficient# even if it sometimes or$s. The result of doing this is a payoff that.s almost the closest thing you get to a free lunch in space travel terms. This is hat you get if you launch from the altitude here *scape 6elocity is ''.2 $mBsec Escape velocity +45 m/sec +180m/sec 2 $mBsec +405m/sec 3 $mBsec +2.56km/sec 9 $mBsec

Velocity at infinity ' $mBsec

The payoff is huge# particularly at first. A little bit of e)tra velocity lo do n# close to the *arth# pays off as a large amount of e)tra velocity at distance. This is hy NASA does their main interplanetary launch burns in lo earth orbit# and that.s hy you should too. The bigger and heavier the planet you.re close to# the bigger this effect is. Arriving at a planet is Gust the inverse of leaving it# and slo ing do n ought to be done in the same place + close above the surface. This is obviously true if you intend to aerobra$e on arrival# but ma$es sense even if you.d prefer to use retroroc$ets + it.s more efficient to do the bra$ing burn as close above the surface of the planet as you dare. There.s only one practical problem ith this approach to departures + you have to calculate the correct hyperbola to depart in the direction that you intend. This is rather tedious to do by hand# but 5@D.s li$e Trans3 automate this calculation# and ma$e it Cuite simple to plan.

$ %utting it together & Trans' flight plan 1.

:e no $no everything that needs to be done to create a flight plan to another planet from *arth. '. 7alculate a suitable -ohmann transfer# including any variations needed to match inclinations. And find a suitable launch indo to go. 2. &nce that.s been done# e.ll have a reCuirement to leave *arth in a given direction# at a given speed# at a given time. So e need to plan a suitable -yperbolic orbit that allo s that. 3. &nce e arrive at the target planet# e.ll ant to s$im right above the surface# for three reasons. ! "t.s fuel!efficient to retro!fire hen e.re lo # and speed is high =rule 2> ! "t could allo aerobra$ing ! "t.s cool to be that accurate.

%o

to get starte#

Trans3 divides all flights into stages + stages in hich different central bodies are dominant. "f you start up Trans3 for the first time# it ill sho your current traGectory around the body that.s currently dominant for your spacecraft. The best time to plan a flight is before you ta$e off. 6ery often# there.s a need to find a launch indo in the early stages.

$.1Telling Trans' the plan in outline.

To set up the very basic outline of your flight# you simply give Trans3 a seCuence of .Target..s to aim for. Aou do this using the .Select Target. variable. The ISelect TargetJ variable normally comes up first in any stage. "f it doesn.t# it.s in the ISetupJ vie # and can be selected using the 6A? and !6? buttons =shift!6 and (> 0et.s loo$ at some e)amples.

&oing from Earth to Mars.

The first stage ill be *arth!centred. 7hoose a target of .*scape. and press @:D =shift!@> . A ne stage# centred on the Sun# ill be created. This second stage is Sun!centred. Aou no have a list of planets to choose fromE 7hoose .5ars.. Aou don.t have to do any more for no # but if you ish# you can press @:D again. This creates a 5ars! centred stage. "n the third stage# don.t choose a target.

&oing from Earth to the Moon.

The first stage is *arth!centred. 7hoose .5oon.. The second stage ill be moon centred. Don.t choose a target.

&oing from Earth to Titan.

The first stage is *arth!centred. 7hoose .*scape. The second stage is Sun!centred. 7hoose .Saturn. The third stage is Saturn!centred. 7hoose .Titan.. Aou may create a fourth# Titan centred stage.

'o!ager
A comple) flight li$e the 6oyager grand tour# ith multiple slingshots# could end up ith a hole series of stages and targets. *arth!K*scape# Sun!KDupiter# Dupiter!K*scape# Sun!KSaturn# Saturn!K*scape# Sun!KFranus# Franus! K*scape# Sun!KNeptune# Neptune!K; (y this means you can set out a very basic outline for any flight. "n many cases there.s no need to create all the stages at the beginning + you can al ays add them on later. "n this case# e.re Gust doing a standard -ohmann transfer# so e only need t o stages at first. *arth! centred# ith a target of escape# and Sun!centred# ith a target of 5ars. 7reate thisE

$.2 (reating the ohmann transfer.

The actual -ohmann transfer needs to be created in the Sun!centred stage. -ere.s the process " use. ! 4o to the Sun!centred stage. =sh!@>. Select 6ie + 2lan *Gect.

! Select the I2rograde 6elJ variable# and increase its value. Aou ill see a yello # hypothetical orbit displayed.

Trans( has a colour scheme.

Aour orbit# =or any orbit that.s been passed for ard from a previous stage> is in green. &rbits of planets are blue =this is a recent change> -ypothetical orbits are a hatched yello . The line of intersect of t o inclination planes is grey# as is the surface of a planet. "ncrease the siHe of the yello orbit until it touches the blue orbit of the target planet. Aou can increase its siHe by increasing the value of I2rograde 6elJ. &nce you have done this# you ill see t o hatched yello lines# and a line on the 5@D saying I7l. App =rough>J. This is measured in metres + $L$ilometres# mLmegametres ='000 $m> 4L 4igametres =' million $m> T L Terametres =' billion $m>. This line gives a rough estimate of ho close you ill pass to the target planet. Aour actual pass ill normally be closer + this figure doesn.t ta$e the planet.s gravity into account. Typically the t o yello hatched lines ill be some distance apart. This is because Trans3 assumes your ta$eoff ill be immediate. Aou need to find a suitable launch indo . Select the I*Gect DateJ variable# and change it. Aou.ll see the yello orbit tumble around# and the closest approach distance ill change. 5ove it until you reach hat seems li$e a minimum value. This is your launch indo E The Trans3 graph above sho s hat it loo$s li$e at a launch indo . Aou may at this stage ish to stop planning# close &rbiter# and manually edit a scenario to a fe days before your selected launch indo . This can save a lot of aiting E As you can see# Trans3 still thin$s you ill miss 5ars by nearly 8 million $ilometres. This is because e have done nothing about the differing inclinations of *arth and 5ars. :e can deal ith that no . Select I7h. 2lane 6elocityJ. Add some velocity here. Aou ill see the grey inclination line s ing around. 0ine it up ith the t o yello ones. Aou.ll see the closest approach drop significantly. Aou can fine!tune the approach by playing ith the variables. There.s no need to get it perfect at this stage + you ill need course corrections later in any case. The final variable I&ut ard velocityJ is useful if you for some reason ant to leave earlier or later in the launch indo than the absolute optimum day. 2ositive out ard velocity allo s you to leave later# negative allo s an earlier departure. &nce you.re happy ith your setup# you.ve successfully planned the -ohmann transfer part of the trip. No e need to plan the departure from *arth.

) *eparting from +arth.

"n the course of planning your -ohmann transfer# you have effectively decided on the date# direction and velocity of your departure from *arth. :ith this information# Trans3 can plan an appropriate departure orbit# given t o further pieces of information. '. The distance of 2e =2eriapsis> above the planet core. (ecause of principle 2 =faster is better> the best place for this is right above the atmosphere. At around 1.,// 5

2. The second thing to plan is the orientation of your departure hyperbola. The hyperbola can be rotated around the departure vector using this variable. 5ost values should be &M. The displayed heading gives an indication of the right direction to launch in# but is only accurate hen it.s time to launch. "t "S time to launch hen your current location is Gust a bit est of the plane of the orbit you ant to be in. Trans3 provides an eCuatorial proGection to help you Gudge this. The follo ing picture is an eCuatorial proGection =North 2ole at the top# eCuator across the centre># and sho s that your current position ill be rotated =by the *arth> across the plane of your target orbit in a short time. "t.s a good moment to ta$e off. At this point# the ta$eoff heading ill be 21.. This value also doesn.t ta$e accound of the rotation of the *arth + in this case a fe degrees est of that + 2'.# perhaps# ill probably or$ out ell. &nce you have actually ta$en off# the heading label disappears# and is replaced by a readout of the relative inclination of your orbit to the target. This gives you a chance to adGust your heading during ta$eoff to get an e)cellent alignment ith your target orbit. "f all goes ell# you should end up in a lo earth orbit that is close to coplanar to your planned hypothetical one. Aou can tidy up any error in your inclination by a suitable burn as you cross the grey inclination line + Gust as you ould ith the align orbit 5@D. As you approach the periapsis of the planned orbit# you can then carry out a prograde burn to put you precisely into the planned traGectory. Aou are on your ay E

, (ourse corrections in Trans'

After you.ve got close onto a course close to the planned one# it.s best to then coast a ay from *arth. *ven if the angle.s are slightly rong# it.ll be cheaper to fi) them once your velocity has dropped a bit =most non!energy errors should be fi)ed hen you move slo lyE>. As you coast a ay# Trans3 ill eventually detect that you.ve left *arth.s influence# and ill delete the first stage. The first stage ill no be the Sun!centred one. 7oast for a bit longer until you.re sure that the remaining dregs of *arth.s influence are ell behind you. No is a good time for a course correction.

)hen shoul# * make course corrections+

To a degree it.s up to you. -o ever# the longer you leave an error# the larger the course correction you.re li$ely to ultimately need. A good rule of thumb is to correct your traGectory every time the remaining distance to your target halves until you are certain here you.re going. That# and a bit of practice is all you need.

*s there an easier

a! to #o course corrections+

5aybe. "f the course correction is Cuite small# you can forget about planning it# and Gust use ?7S thrusters in linear mode in various directions until you.re happy ith the retargeting.

Making course corrections.

7hange the vie to I5anoevreJ. Fse the I5anoevre modeJ variable to s itch manoevre mode on. Aou can al ays reset manoevre mode by toggling this variable off and on again.

@ollo ing this# you have four variables you can use to create a manoevre. Aou can set the time# prograde# out ard and change plane velocities# in much the same manner as in the *Gect plan.Aou can adGust this manoevre# hilst atching the 7losest approach variable# until you.re entirely happy ith it. "f you open a second Trans3 5@D indo # you can loo$ at the conseCuences in any follo ing stages of your adGustments in the current one. &nce you.re happy ith the accuracy of your retargeting# press the 6: button to change to the I7rosshairJ vie . 7hange the orientation of your ship to line up the crosshairs in the middle. Then carry out the burn# atching ho much delta!6 is left to burn. &nce you.re close# you ill have made your planned course correctionE 4o bac$ and s itch off manoevre mode to see hat your actual course no loo$s li$e. This mode is also useful for planning some types of larger burns. Anytime you ant to use Trans3 to plan a change to an e)isting orbit# the manoevre vie is possibly the ay to go.

- The standard .%ioneer style/ slingshot orbit.

A traditional gravitational slingshot =or gravity assist> manoevre is rather li$e the interaction bet een a ball and a bat. @rom the bat.s point of vie # the ball Gust bounces off it# and in fact energy is lost due to the fact that the ball isn.t perfectly elastic. (ut the ball in fact gains plenty of energy. :hy; (ecause the bat is moving. A typical gravitational slingshot is Gust the same. A planet plays the part of the bat# and the spacecraft is the ball. "nstead of a bounce# there.s a hyperbolic orbit. (ut the effect is Gust the same. @rom the planets point of vie # the spacecraft arrives in one direction# and departs in another at the same speed + the .bounce. in gravitational slingshots is virtually perfectly elastic. And because the planet is actually moving# the spacecraft can gain plenty of energy in the process. There are t o criteria for a good planet for gravitational slingshots. &ne is that the planet must be heavy and dense enough to turn the spacecraft.s path through a siHeable angle. The second is that the planet itself should be moving at a good speed. The combination of these t o criteria means that Dupiter is by far the best planet for slingshots ! it.s really big and heavy# and it moves pretty Cuic$ly. Saturn comes in second place as it.s still heavy enough for most things# but it is beginning to move more slo ly. The most plausible third place candidate is *arth itself. "t.s on the small siHe for slingshots# but it is the largest terrestrial planet# its very high density ma$es up for its light eight to a degree# and it does have the advantage of moving Cuic$ly. 6enus also has its uses. 5ars is too small for most things# and 5ercury is also rather small# and since it isn.t on the ay to any here else# you only use it hen you have to. Franus and Neptune are slo # but heavy# so slingshots there alter direction Cuite ell# but have less impact on the energy. 2luto# as you may have guessed# is completely useless. This type of slingshot is all about accuracy. Aou aim for a single# uniCue path ay past a planet that ill flic$ you off in a precise direction + to get to the ne)t place you.re going. There is al ays Gust one traGectory that ill do this. Nearby traGectories all achieve spectacularly different =and probably unhelpful> results. The outstandingly good characteristics of Dupiter mean that a Dupiter slingshot is a component of many flight plans. "f you ever ant to go to the Sun# for e)ample# the most fuel!efficient route is to go to Dupiter first.

-.1 The periapsis burn refinement.

As you s ing past a planet# your velocity can increase considerably# pea$ing at periapsis at values as high as /0 $ilometres per second in the case of Dupiter. These high speeds ma$e the periapsis of the pass a perfect place to add =or remove> some orbital energy using engines.

-.2 *oing slingshots 0ith Trans'.

"f you select a target of escape from a planet# and it.s not the first place you started# Trans3 ill select the slingshot plan for the planet stage# and sling direct for the stage after ard.

The sling direct plan is rather li$e the eGect plan# e)cept that it uses different variables. Aou are invited to direct the path of your craft using angles# rather than setting three different velocities. Aour path is chosen this ay to reflect the fact that you probably on.t do a maGor burn as you pass the planet. Fsing angles ma$es it easy to see hat you can do ith the velocity you have. After you.ve selected your angles# you also need to chec$ that your traGectory safely clears the planet. Aou can do this in the ISling DirectJ stage by loo$ing at the ISling DirectJ vie . This vie contains the ratio of your 2eriapsis above the planet to the planet.s radius. @igures above ' mean you.ll be able to fly by. @igures belo ' imply the oppositeE Aou may have to allo a bit of space for the atmosphere as ell# so don.t cut it too fine. &n the slingshot stage itself# there.s a po erful approach tool in the slingshot vie . The grey circle represents the dis$ of the planet# and the t o lines on the diagram represent the periapsis of your actual orbit =or the one a manoevre may get you to># and the periapsis of the orbit you reCuire.To get an optimal slingshot past a planet on your planned course# you need to $eep the lines aligned. To align the lines perfectly# the 2e ?atio =the ratio of the distances from the planet core> must be '# and the relative inclination should be Hero. @or large planets li$e Dupiter# this alignment process should start a long ay out. This screenshot is from the 4T1 scenario that comes ith &rbiter.s standard Trans3 install. At this point# ".m still about si) months distant from Dupiter. "t.s orth aligning very early in Dupiter.s case. "f the lines are perfectly aligned# you ill pass precisely through the reCuired slingshot ith an accuracy measured in mere tens of miles or less. The accuracy of slingshots is Gust as good as regular launches.

11 The giant planet arri#al ellipse.

-ere.s another manoevre that NASA does that you can emulate + this one allo s you to land on the moons of the giant planets. 0et.s assume e.re heading for Dupiter. The tric$ is in the first manoevre. Aou line up a lo pass# close to the Dovian surface. (ecause Dupiter is 300 times the mass of *arth# this means e.ll be going fast + nearly 10 $mBsec at closest approach. This speed means that this Dovian periapsis is a great place to adGust orbital energy. "f e.re arriving at Dupiter at 8$mBsec# it.s going to ta$e a burn of only ,00 metresBsecond to lose it all# and get captured into Dovian orbit. "t.s space flight principle 2 at or$ + adGust energy hen moving fast. (ecause of this# it really doesn.t hurt too much to encounter Dupiter at high speed + it.s pretty fuel!efficient to sort it out hen you arrive. (ut there.s more to this manoevre than that. :hen you.re at some distance from Dupiter# you can efficiently choose hich part of the planet you ant to s oop around. Do it so that e!iapsis is also the place "he!e you c!oss the o!#ital plane of you! ta!$et moon. "f you do that# hen you ma$e the retro burn# you.ll create a long elliptical orbit. And# up at the other end# at Apoapsis# ill be the other place here you cross your target moon.s orbital plane E The second part of the manoevre is therefore to go around the ellipse to apoapsis. There# perform t o manoevres. '. 5atch inclination ith your target orbit. At the top of this long ellipse# you.ll be moving slo ly# and the burn ill be cheap. 2. ?aise periapsis to match up ith your target moon. This burn ill be comparatively cheap too.

Someday there may be an 5@D mode that can amalgamate these t o manoevres into a single burn. The third part of the manoevre is to go around to the ne periapsis# and there do a retro burn to reduce the orbit length. Aou can use either the default Sync orbit 5@D or Trans3 to line up an encounter ith the moon itself on the follo ing orbit. To see the reCuired manoevres in Trans3# all you need to do is to set the moon as the ne)t target. The inclination line ill then be displayed.

,e-ersing the process+

This manoevre ought to be carried out in reverse to plan a return trip to *arth. -o ever# it is currently rather difficult to plan this manoevre in reverse + this is li$ely to be the subGect of a future Trans3 plan.

11 2esonant encounters
There aren.t any Trans3 plans to support these manoevres yet. (ut NASA does them# and they.re Cuite cunning.

11.1 The simple resonant encounter.

"f one pass of a planet doesn.t give enough of a t ist to a slingshot# you can al ays try using several. The tric$ is to get yourself into an orbit hich is resonant ith the orbit of the planet you encounter. "f# for e)ample# you s ing past *arth and enter an orbit that ta$es 2 years# the *arth ill go around its orbit t ice for every orbit your craft ma$es. This means that hen you get bac$ to the location of your first encounter ith *arth# the planet ill be there again as ell. So you can then s ing past it again# and perhaps move on to a different resonance# perhaps 3:2# or 3:' allo ing yet another encounter at that same location later. (y hopping from resonance to resonance# you can encounter a planet repeatedly in the same location# and progressively change your orbit into something Cuite different. NASA did this repeatedly ith the moons of Dupiter during 4alileo.s grand tour.

11.2 The 3apoapsis burn3 #ariant.

"f you.re in an orbit that.s coplanar ith your target as ell as close to resonant# there.s another neat tric$ that.s available. '. *ncounter the planet# and leave it in a more!or!less prograde direction. 2. At your apoapsis# lo er 2eriapsis some hat. 2lan to do this in such a ay that you.ll re!encounter the same planet# but in a different place# and at more of an angle. 3. Aou then encounter the planet# but at a much higher relative velocity# due to the angle change. &n s inging bac$ to prograde# you significantly increase the energy of your orbit. &r you can use the e)tra energy for some other purpose. This process can be used to pump the orbit siHe up = ith retro burns at apoapsis> or do n# by follo ing the process bac$ ards. "t.s planned that Trans3 ill support both of these someday....

12 4eedbac5
*mail any comments on this bac$ to duncan.sharpeNpi)el!2'.co.u$ Duncan Sharpe November 2003