AAE 532 – Orbit Mechanics

Problem Set 1
Due: 9/2/22

Problem 1: Dragonfly is a NASA mission to

Saturn’s largest moon Titan, now scheduled to
launch in 2027 and arrive in 2034. The
spacecraft is an eight-bladed drone-like craft,
called a quadcopter, to enable short flights
around the surface. Titan’s atmosphere is
similar to Earth’s at the time when life
appeared here 3.5 billion years ago. By
studying chemicals in Titan’s atmosphere and
on the surface, Dragonfly will offer insight into
possible starting ingredients for life on Earth
Image Credit: JHUAPL
and elsewhere.
As an ocean world, Titan offers a rare opportunity to explore the origins of prebiotic chemistry
outside of Earth's environment. The Dragonfly spacecraft is a next step in Titan exploration.
Dragonfly builds on the legacy of NASA and the European Space Agency’s legendary Cassini-
Huygens mission. Cassini orbited Saturn and encountered many moons from 2004 to 2017, while
Huygens landed on Titan in 2005. Together, the spacecraft mapped the moon, studied the
composition of Titan’s atmosphere, and discovered evidence for a water ocean beneath the
surface.
Dragonfly will initially land near Titan’s equator in Shangri-La, a field of dunes that are similar
to the dunes that are observed in Namibia on Earth. The spacecraft will also visit the Selk impact
crater, where the energy of the impact may have created a temporary liquid-water lake.
Everywhere it goes, Dragonfly will examine Titan’s surface. Mounted to each of the probe’s two
sled-like rails is a drill that to grind up materials to be sucked into an instrument i.e., a mass
spectrometer. At Saturn’s distance from the Sun, sunlight is only 1% as strong as it is on Earth.
Therefore, Dragonfly can’t rely on solar power — it will operate on batteries during the day and
recharge at night from a nuclear power source similar to the ones on NASA’s Curiosity and
Perseverance rovers. Of course, Dragonfly has cameras to take aerial images as it soars through
Titan’s skies. These photos will aid the mission team in scouting for Dragonfly’s next
destinations, and will also give likely awe-inspiring panoramic views of this mysterious moon.
Information: https://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu

Of course, none of this great stuff happens if the spacecraft does not get to Saturn and deliver
Dragonfly to Titan. For our AAE 532 class, we are focused on the Earth-to-Saturn trajectory.
The current trajectory appears on the next page. As discussed in class, this trajectory is a design
with the new launch date in 2027 but the arrival remains 2034. Let’s consider the challenges of
the launch being offset by a significant time interval.
Consider the relative positions of the Earth and Saturn over time. Go to the website:
http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/orbits/
On the top bar, click on ‘Tools’. Under Tools, locate and click ‘Orbit Viewer’; you will be
switched to the page with a view of the planets. Use the Menu Icon in the upper left of the image.
Click on icon and other settings are available. For example, you can use Saturn as the SSB and a
view from the Ecliptic. Use the ‘Play’ button to observe the orbit evolution. In the menu, you can
also add or remove the orbits of relevant planets in the image. In the upper right in the image you
can set a start date and the system will evolve.

(i) The original launch date was actually 4/12/25 and the Titan arrival was 12/30/34. The second
(backup) launch date was 4/5/26 with arrival 12/30/34. Enter the launch date and observe the
relative position of Earth and Saturn at launch at both launch dates. Use the image and estimate
the Earth-Sun-Saturn angle. Save the image from the backup launch date in a couple different
views: (1) one view straight down onto the ecliptic plane to assess the locations of some of the
other planets on the same date; (2) any other interesting view. (Perhaps a side view to assess if
Saturn is in the same orbital plane as the Earth around the Sun.)

(ii) Advance the date to Titan arrival. Also save the same 2 images. What is the Earth-Sun-Saturn
angle now? How many revolutions did the Earth complete around the Sun between launch and
Titan arrival?

(iii) The operations at Titan requires a communications link with the Earth. Consider the link
between Earth and Saturn at Titan arrival. Is there line-of-sight between the Earth and Saturn at
arrival? Why does that matter? Note that ‘semi-major axis’ offers an approximation for the
distance from each planet to the Sun. What are the semi-major axes for the planets Earth and
Saturn. For this Earth-Sun-Saturn arrival angle, estimate the distance of the spacecraft from
Earth.

(iv) Find a date when the Sun, Earth and Saturn are nearly aligned (Saturn and Earth on opposite
sides of the Sun, nearly 180 degrees apart OR on the same side 0 degrees apart). Capture the
image from a couple angles. Is this position termed opposition or conjunction? (Cite your source
for the definitions of these words.)
Why is this date potentially a problem for communications?

(v) View Saturn’s moons in a Saturn-centered image. Which one do you think is Titan? We can
explore by estimating the distance of Titan from Saturn (semi-major axis) and Titan’ orbit
inclination. Note that Titan’s orbit plane is about .35 Deg with respect to Saturn’s Equator and
the Saturn’s Equator is about 26.7 deg with respect to the ecliptic plane. If the Dragonfly
spacecraft trajectory from Earth is mostly in the ecliptic plane, is the Titan orbit plane a
challenge at arrival? Why do you think so (either way)?

(vi) Assume that you are anxious and just want arrival earlier. Advance the arrival date to YOUR
birthday in 2030 and save the images. What is the Sun-Earth-Saturn angle? Would a clear
communications link be available on your birthday? If the link seems ok, what other challenges
might exist?

Problem 2: The solar system consists of the Sun and those celestial objects bound to it by
gravity. These objects are the eight planets, over 150 known moons, dwarf planets, and billions
of small bodies. There are likely thousands of dwarf planets waiting to be discovered beyond
Neptune! However, the IAU has recognized five dwarf planets: Pluto, Eris, Makemake, Haumea,
and Ceres. However, there are four more planetary objects, namely Orcus, Sedna, Gonggong and
Quaoar, that the majority of the scientific community recognizes as dwarf planets as of 2021.

Check out the site from problem #1 and investigate the orbits of the nine accepted dwarf planets.
On the top bar, click on ‘Tools’. Under Tools, locate and click ‘NEO Lookup.’ Enter the dwarf
planet name in the search box and click; you will be switched to the page with lots of data about
this dwarf planet. Click on ‘Orbit Diagram’ and see the dwarf planet orbit within the context of
the solar system. Use the ‘Play’ button to observe the orbit evolution. Recall that in the upper left
is a menu and under ‘Settings’ you can add or remove the orbits of relevant planets in the image.
[Note that the dwarf planet orbit is in two different colors; where the colors change indicates the
location at which the dwarf planet crosses through the orbital plane of the Earth about the Sun,
i.e., the ecliptic plane.]

(i) Submit an image for the orbit of each the 9 dwarf planets and their orientation relative to the
rest of the solar system. Also, your figures should be dated on your birthday in the year 2023.
The International Astronomical Union (IAU), the official scientific body for astronomical
nomenclature, defines a dwarf planet as a celestial body within the solar system that satisfies
these four conditions:

(a) is in orbit around the Sun

(b) has sufficient mass for its self-gravity to overcome rigid body forces so that it
assumes a hydrostatic equilibrium (near-spherical) shape
(c) has not cleared the neighborhood around its orbit
(d) is not a satellite/moon
Do the 5 IAU dwarf planets appear to meet criteria (a) and (d)? How about the additional 4
dwarf planets accepted by the community?

(iii) Create a table with the following information on the nine dwarf planets: distance from the
Earth on your birthday (given in the image), period of the orbit, the semi-major axis and the
inclination. Note that the Sun-Earth distance is 1 AU (where AU = Astronomical Unit = 1.496 x
108 km) where the average distance from the Sun is the semi-major axis in the same units.
Compare the semi-major axis distance to the distance from Earth on your birthday; is the dwarf
planet above or below the ecliptic plane? Consider which dwarf planet is closest to Earth on your
birthday for a potential mission? Spacecraft delivery is easiest when the object is in the ecliptic
plane at arrival. To arrive and be located in the ecliptic plane, is it likely to arrive on your
birthday in any year? Why or why not? Given your birthday in 2023, what is the next earliest
date when the dwarf planet moves across the ecliptic plane; how long do we have to wait? (Add
an image).

(Note that the small-body database defines inclination as the orientation of the dwarf planet orbit
plane with respect to the ecliptic plane.)

(iv) For each of the additional four newly accepted dwarf planets, answer the following
questions:
(a) Name, year of discovery, and size?
(b) Moons (if any) and their names and sizes?
(d) Source of your information? (Website or source; Wikipedia is not a primary source)
(e) One interesting fact that is not common knowledge about the new dwarf planet