3.1 Transit Orbits.docVIP

3.1 Transit Orbits Kassandra De Voto Nomenclature Earth Atmospheric Entry Theoretical atmosphere limit, 200 km altitude above Earth LEO Low Earth orbit (300 km altitude) LMO Low Mars orbit (200 km altitude) Mars Atmospheric Entry Theoretical atmosphere limit, 100 km altitude above Mars MIDAS Mission Design and Analysis Software ΔV Delta vee, required velocity change in units of length/time Introduction Before we can do anything on Mars, we first have to get there. How we choose to do so can affect virtually every aspect of mission and vehicle design, from how long we are on Mars to the size and characteristics of the ship we can take there. In order to design the “best” mission, we look at how changing a single aspect of the trajectory affects other areas of the mission, and how multiple changes interrelate. Then, using the MIDAS optimization software developed by JPL,1 we find the trajectories that meet all given mission parameters, and choose the one we feel would be most cost effective. Trajectory Determination Determining an interplanetary trajectory is a complex process involving a number of different variables and effects. Besides the obvious requirements that we begin at the launch site and end up where we want to go, we must also choose a trajectory that has a launch velocity and maneuvers we can actually produce, an arrival velocity that our vehicle (and crew) can withstand, and for manned missions, a flight time and path that the crew can survive. Each of these significantly affect our mission design, and each depends on the others. In order to produce a “minimum cost” mission that accomplishes all our goals, we have to make trade-offs between these different requirements. This report is merely a feasibility study, so a number of minor effects and requirements were either neglected or “black boxed;” assumed to have a specific value. These include such effects as orbital correction maneuvers required due to errors from thruster misalignme