Fundamentals of Planetary Tour Design
Discipline: Loads & Dynamics
Original Webcast Air Date: August 26th, 2015.
The first robotic planetary missions (e.g. Mariners, Voyager) were flybys, with limited time in the vicinity of their targets for scientific observations. Following these were planetary orbiters, including missions to planets with multiple satellites (Galileo to Jupiter, Cassini to Saturn) for which the satellites were themselves targets of scientific investigation along with the planetary environment. Both Jupiter and Saturn have satellites that are large enough so that flybys of these satellites can be used to shape and “steer” the trajectory through the planetary system to wring the most science out of the limited amount of propellant (and money) available for the mission. This webcast will discuss the fundamentals of design of satellite tours and the twists and tricks that are used by designers using the satellites as trajectory design tools.
