https://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/system/resources/detail_files/5868_IMG004868.

jpg

InterplanetaryTransfer
 Topics

BiellipticTransfer
SphereofInfluence
ImpactParameter
PatchedConic
SpecificImpulse
InterceptProblem:ConsiderationofPlanetsOrbital
AngularVelocity
ThreeBodyProblem(SpecialCase)

InterplanetaryTransfer
 BiellipticTransfer
Itcanbeshownthatwhentheseparationbetweentheinnerand
outerorbitsisverylarge,abielliptictransfercanbemoreenergy
efficientthanaHohmanntransfer.
2ndellipse

1st ellipse
intermediate
orbit

InterplanetaryTransfer
 BiellipticTransfer
If 11.9 :Hohmanntransferisalwaysmoreefficientthanbi
elliptictransfer.
If11.9 15.6 :Bielliptictransferismoreefficientthan
Hohmanntransferonlyif (radiusofintermediateorbit)isgreater
thanacertainvalue.
If 15.6 :Bielliptictransferisalwaysmoreenergyefficient
thanHohmanntransfer.

Bielliptictransfermaybemoreenergyefficientrelativetothe
Hohmanntransfer.Whataboutthetransfertime?

Isthetransfertimeofbielliptictransferlonger,shorter,or
thesameasHohmanntransfer?

InterplanetaryTransfer
 BiellipticTransfer
Althoughthistransfermaybemoreenergyefficientrelativetothe
Hohmanntransfer,itofteninvolvesmuchlargertraveltime.
Noticetherearethreefiringsinabielliptictransfer.Forajourney
fromlowertohigherorbit,thereare:
Twoareprogradefiringsatinsertiontothefirsttransferellipse
andtransitiontothesecondtransferellipse.
Oneretrogradefiringforinsertionintofinalorbit.
Ifthejourneyisfromahighertolowerorbit,thereare3firingsas
wellbutthefiringdirectionsaretheopposites.

Usingbielliptictransferforjourneyfromahighertolowerorbit
isnotagoodidea why?

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SphereofInfluence(SOI)

TheSungravitationalfieldisthemostdominantinthesolarsystem.

However,ifanobjectisinaregioncloseenoughtoaplanet,the
gravitationalattractionoftheplanetislargeenoughtobe
consideredthedominantforcefield.

Thisregioniscalledthesphereof
influence(SOI).

Thinkofamagnet!

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SphereofInfluence(SOI)
LetsdevelopanequationtoexpresstheradiusofSOI, .

isthedistancebetweenthemasses, and .Itisthelengthof

thesemimajoraxis(radius)ofaplanetaryorbitinthecaseofthe
Sun planetrelationships.

Let
InterplanetaryTransfer
 SphereofInfluence(SOI)
Forceexertedby on :

Similarly,theforceexertedby on :

Theratiooftheforcescanbewrittenas:

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SphereofInfluence(SOI)
Letsdefinethesphereofinfluence(oractivitysphere)asaregion
wheretheforceexertedbythesmallermass, ,canbe
consideredsignificantcomparedtotheforceexertedon bythe
largermass, .

LetsassumethattheedgeofSOIisestablishedat whenthe
forceexertedby isabout10%oftheforceexertedby
( / 0.1).

Usingthepreviousequationfortheratiooftheforcesandwith
assumptionthat sothat :
.
10

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SphereofInfluence(SOI)
TheradiusofSOIforallplanets
aregiveninTable531ofHale:
However,itiscustomary
tousethefollowing Planet AU Meters
relationshipforradiusof Mercury 0.000747 1.117E8
SOIinstead: Venus 0.00411 6.163E8
Earth 0.00618 9.245E8
. Mars 0.00386 5.781E8
[31] Jupiter 0.3222 4.820E10
Saturn 0.3761 5.627E10
Uranus 0.3457 5.172E10
Neptune 0.5792 8.664E10
Pluto 0.0222? 3.320E10?
F.Hale,IntroductiontoSpaceFlight(1stedition),
1994

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SphereofInfluence(SOI)
Example31:SOIoftheEarth

ThedistancebetweentheEarthandtheSunisknownas1AU
(AstronomicalUnit)anditequalsto1.496E11m.

IfthemassoftheSunis332,900timesthemassoftheEarth,
calculatetheradiusofSOIoftheEarthwithrespecttotheSun(in
AUandkm).

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SphereofInfluence(SOI)
Example31:SOIoftheEarth

Fromequation[31],wecancalculate:

.
1
1AU 0.00618AU 924,500km
332,900

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SphereofInfluence(SOI)
Whenanobjectisleavingaplanet,wewillassumeescapewhen
.
Ontheotherhand,whenanobjectapproachesaplanet,wecan
assumethatitisinfluencedbytheplanetsgravitationalpull
when .

Anobject(e.g.,aspacecraft)entersorleavesaplanetarySOIon
eitheraparabolictrajectory( 0)orahyperbolictrajectory
( 0).

Thehyperbolictrajectoryismorecommonforlaunching
interplanetarymission why?

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ImpactParameter
AfterenteringanSOIofaplanet,ifnoactionistaken,thespacecraft
willeitherhit(impact)theplanetorexecuteaflyby(parabolicor
hyperbolic)andleavetheSOI.

Nowletslookatimpactparameterandapproachdistanceto
determinewhethertherewillbeanimpactoraflyby.
Note:weneglecttheeffectofatmosphere.

http://imgc.allpostersimages.com/images/P47348890/61/6126/LQOF100Z/posters/stocktrekimagesillustrationofaspaceshuttlereentering
theearthsatmosphere.jpg

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ImpactParameter
Impactparameteristheperpendiculardistancebetweenthe
trajectoryandtheplanet.
Letuslookatahyperbolictrajectorythatwilljustgrazethesurface
oftheplanetattheperiapsisofthetrajectory(i.e. ).

Local
horizon (impactparameter)

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ImpactParameter

Using[17],thespecificangularmomentumofthetrajectoryis:

cos

But cos (impactparameter),therefore:

cos

Wealsoknowfrom[114]thatforaconicsectiontrajectory
.Therefore:

[32]

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ImpactParameter

Usingequation[16]andwith ,wehave:

ConservationofEnergy

2 2

Rearranging:
2

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ImpactParameter
Recallfrom[120]that2 / is from (thesurfaceofthe
planet):

[33]

Substituting[33]to[32]andsolvingfortheimpactparameter, :

1 [34]

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ImpactParameter
Nowletsconsiderapproachdistance(perpendiculardistance
betweenthetrajectoryandtheplanetattheedgeofSOI).
Thederivationissimilartotheimpactparameter, ,howeverthe
periapsisofthetrajectoryisundefined.

EdgeofSOI (approachdistance)

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ImpactParameter

Fromthegeometry,theapproachdistance, ,is:

cos [35]

Ifnoaction(propulsiveorotherwise)istakentomodifythe
incominghyperbolictrajectory,weseethat:
If ,therewillbeaflyby
If ,therewillbeasurfacegraze
If ,therewillbeanimpact

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ImpactParameter
Example32:ApproachingVenus

AspacecraftreachestheSOIofVenuswith 2,700m/sand
85.IftheradiusofVenusis6.052E6manditsradiusofSOI
is0.00411AU,determineifthespacecraftwillimpactorflyby.
ThemassofVenusis4.867E24kg.

Note:1AU=1AstronomicalUnit=thedistancefromEarthtothe
Sun(1.496E11meters)

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ImpactParameter
Example32:ApproachingVenus

Tofindtheimpactparameter, ,firstweneedtofindtheescape
velocity:
2 2

2x(6.67E11)(4.867E24)
10,357.6m/s
6.052E6

Using[34],wecanfindtheimpactparameter, :

(10,357.6)
1 6.052E6 1 2.399E7m
(2,700)

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ImpactParameter
Example32:ApproachingVenus

Using[35]tofindtheapproachdistance, :

cos
0.00411AUcos 85 0.000358AU 5.359E7m

Since ( 5.359E7m)isgreaterthan ( 2.399E7m),the

spacecraftwillmissthesurfaceofVenusandwillexecuteaflyby
andleavetheSOIofVenus.

TrytofindthealtitudeofthespacecraftfromthesurfaceofVenus
atitsclosestapproach(periapsis).

InterplanetaryTransfer
 PatchedConic
Interplanetarytransferfromlowertohigherorbit:
parkingorbitofP1>Hohmanntransfer>orbitinsertion toP2

PhaseII
HohmannTransfer

S
P2 P1

PhaseIII PhaseI
Insertion Escape

P2 P1
SOIofP2 SOIofP1

InterplanetaryTransfer
 PatchedConic

PhaseI
Escape

P1
SOIofP1

InphaseI,theadditionalvelocityneededtoreachthestartvelocity
ofHohmanntransferis:

1 [36]

istheorbitalvelocityofP1,and isthevelocityatstartofHohmanntransfer

Note:Ifitisaplanetarytransferfromhighertolowerorbit, 1 is
negative(needtoslowdown)
InterplanetaryTransfer
 PatchedConic
Twooptionsforescapetrajectory:ParabolicorHyperbolic

ParabolicEscape
Residualvelocityiszero,thereforeitneedstwofirings.

Firstfiring(fromparkingorbitto 1
reachescapevelocity):

where isgivenby[120]: P1

InterplanetaryTransfer
 PatchedConic
isthevelocityofcircularparkingorbitaroundP1.Itisasgivenin
[118]:

Secondfiring(toreachvelocityatstartofHohmanntransfer):

Thetotalvelocityneededforaparabolicescapetrajectory:

[37]

InterplanetaryTransfer
 PatchedConic
HyperbolicEscape
Residualvelocityisgreaterthanzero,onlysinglefiringisneeded.

Byenergybalance,theenergyatperiapsis
mustequaltoenergyatinfinity(see[16]):

P1
2 2

2
Therefore:

InterplanetaryTransfer
 PatchedConic
Atperiapsis,thespacecrafthasinitialvelocitythatequalstothe
velocityofthecircularparkingorbit, .

Therefore,thetotaladditionalvelocityneededforahyperbolic
escapetrajectoryis:

[38]

Ahyperbolicescapetrajectoryismoreefficient(requiresless )
thanaparabolicescapetrajectory.

ForphaseII,pleaserefertopreviousdiscussiononHohmanntransfer.

InterplanetaryTransfer
 PatchedConic

PhaseIII
Insertion

P2
SOIofP2

InphaseIII,theadditionalvelocityneededtomatchtheorbital
velocityofthedestinationplanetis:

2 [39]

istheorbitalvelocityofP2,and isthevelocityatendofHohmanntransfer

Note:Ifitisaplanetarytransferfromhighertolowerorbit, 2 is
negative(needtoslowdown)
InterplanetaryTransfer
 PatchedConic
Byenergybalance,theenergyatperiapsismustequaltotheenergy
atinfinity(edgeofSOI):

2 2

Thereforethevelocityatperiapsisof
insertiontrajectoryis : P2

2
[310]

Theapproachdistanceisgivenby : [311]

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SpecificImpulse
Specificimpulse, ,isaratioofthethrustproducedbythe
propulsionsystemtotheweightflowofthepropellant:

[312]

Theunitof isseconds
isstandardgravitationalacceleration(=9.81m/s2)

Thisisaquickwaytodeterminethethrust,ifweknowtheweight
flowrate ofthefuel.

Whatdoesspecificimpulseindicateabouttheefficiency?

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SpecificImpulse
Thehighervalueofspecificimpulsemeansmoreefficientengine
becauseitproducesmorethrustforthesameamountoffuel.
Conventionalpropulsion(chemicalfuel)hashighthrustbutlow
specificimpulse(notefficient).
Electricpropulsion(e.g.ionthruster)haslowerthrustbuthigher
specificimpulse(moreefficient).

Therelationshipbetweenspecificimpulseandthegaininvelocityis
givenby:
ln where isthetotalmassof
thespacecraftminusthemass
[313]
ofthefuel.

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SpecificImpulse
Example33:SpacecraftPropulsion

Aspacecraftwithdrymassof1,000kghas4,000kgofpropellant.The
specificimpulseisequalto300seconds,andthepropellantmassflow
isequalto50kg/s(constant).

a) Whatisthethrust?
b) Whatistheaccelerationofthespacecraftatthebeginningofthe
thrustinterval?
c) Whatistheaccelerationofthespacecrafttheendofthethrust
interval?
d) Whatisthegaininvelocity?

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SpecificImpulse
Example33:SpacecraftPropulsion

a)Fromequation[36],wehave:

50x300x9.81 147,150N

b)WeknowfromNewtonssecondlawofmotionthat or
.Therefore:
147,150
29.43m/s2
1,000 4,000

c)Similarly:
147,150
147.15m/s2
1,000

InterplanetaryTransfer
 SpecificImpulse
Example33:SpacecraftPropulsion

d)Thegaininvelocitycanbecalculatedusingequation[37]:

ln

ln

1,000 4,000
300x9.81xln
1,000
4,737m/s

InterplanetaryTransfer
 InterceptProblem
Sofarinthediscussionaboutinterplanetarytransfer,wehave
ignoredthefactthattheplanetsaremoving.

PlanetaremovingintheirorbitsabouttheSunwithdifferent
velocitiesthustheyhaverelativemotionwithrespecttoeachother.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8aBZZnv6y8

InterplanetaryTransfer
 InterceptProblem

Inordertocorrectlycomputeaninterplanetarytrajectory,weneed
toconsiderthisrelativemotion.

Inorderforaspacecrafttointerceptthetargetplanet,itmustbe
injectedintothetransfertrajectoryatthecorrecttime,whenthe
originandthetargetplanetsareatcertainangularpositionwith
respecttoeachother.

Thisangularpositionisknownastheleadangle, .

InterplanetaryTransfer
 InterceptProblem
Earth MarsHohmannTransfer

injection

arrival
injection

arrival

InterplanetaryTransfer
 InterceptProblem
Whilethespacecraftonitstransfer,Marsmovesthroughtheangle:

istheorbitalangularvelocity(meanmotion)ofMars:

9.145x103 radian/day=0.5240degrees/day
687.0
where isMarsorbitalperiodabouttheSun.

isthetimeofflight(TOF),whichforHohmanntransfertoMarsis
259days(trytocalculatethisfromwhatwehavelearnedabout
Hohmanntransfer).

InterplanetaryTransfer
 InterceptProblem

Thereforewehave:
0.5240x259 135.7

Andtheleadangle, :
180 44.3

Theoccurrenceofthisparticularleadangleisperiodic.Ithappens
every:
360 360
779.6days 2.135years
0.524 0.9858

Thisintervaloftimeiscalledthesynodicperiod.

InterplanetaryTransfer
 InterceptProblem

ThesynodicperiodsofallplanetswithrespecttoEartharegivenin
Table571ofHale.
Thetablealsoincludestheorbitalangularvelocity, ,ofeach
planet.Thisallowsustocalculatethesynodicperiodforanypairof
planets.

Thesynodicperiodsaregenerallylong(morethanayear).
Thismeansifthelaunchwindowforaparticulartransferismissed,
weneedtowaitforalongtimeforthenextavailablewindow,or
computeadifferenttrajectoryforadifferentleadangle.

InterplanetaryTransfer
 InterceptProblem
Anotherconsequenceofthesynodicperiodisthatroundtripsto
theplanetswillbelongerthantheperiodoftheHohmanntransfer
(2xTOF) sincetheymustincludeawaitatthetargetplanetforthe
correctleadangleforthereturntriptooccur.

Forexample,theroundtriptoMarsandbacktoEarthusingthe
Hohmanntransferwilltakemorethan518days(2x259days).

Ifyouareinterestedtofindoutmoreaboutthereturntripfrom
MarstoEarth,pleasereadHaleChapter5Section7.

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ThreeBodyProblem(SpecialCase)
Theredoesnotexistageneralanalyticalsolutiontothisproblem
(chaoticsolutionsandnumericalonesbasedoniterativemethods).

Specialcase:Asolutionexistsiftwoofthethreebodiesmovein
circularandcoplanarorbitsandthethirdmassissmallcomparedto
theothertwomasses.

Ananalyticalsolutiontothebehaviourofthethirdmasscanbegiven
inthecaseofequilibriumpoints(theLagrangianpoints).

TheLagrangepointsmarkpositionswherethecombinedgravitational
pullofthetwolargemassesprovidespreciselythecentripetalforce
requiredtoorbitwiththem.

InterplanetaryTransfer
 ThreeBodyProblem(SpecialCase)
Thereare5Lagrangepoints:2(L4andL5)arestable;3(L1,L2,L3)are
metastable,i.e.asmallpushandthethirdmassmovesaway.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Lagrange_2_mass.gif

Thethirdmassmovesaroundthefirstmasswiththesameorbital
periodofthesecondmass.
InterplanetaryTransfer
 Beyond
FindoutmoreaboutLagrangepoints:

http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/flagrange.html

http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission/observatory_l2.html

http://www.aklectures.com/lecture/lagrangepoint

InterplanetaryTransfer
 forFun
http://trajbrowser.arc.nasa.gov/index.php

SettheMaxDurationto10yearsandcomparetworendezvoustrajectoriesto
MarswithEarthDeparturedateof23January2014and30October2017.
AretheybothHohmanntransfers?Whichonehaslowertotal ?

InterplanetaryTransfer
END