MSL "Heat shield woes" |
MSL "Heat shield woes" |
Feb 17 2008, 04:20 PM
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#1
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The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
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Feb 17 2008, 05:39 PM
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#2
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Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
Do that, and you don't reach Mars at all. The journey time ( and arrival speed ) are dictated by the trajectory which is dictated by the orbital mechanics.
Doug |
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Feb 18 2008, 01:43 PM
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#3
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Member Group: Members Posts: 613 Joined: 23-February 07 From: Occasionally in Columbia, MD Member No.: 1764 |
Do that, and you don't reach Mars at all. The journey time ( and arrival speed ) are dictated by the trajectory which is dictated by the orbital mechanics. Yes - sort of. The launch date, launch speed, arrival date, arrival speed and arrival location are all coupled. Not all points in this five-dimensional space are populated for a given launch vehicle, and some points are not populated at all. For a given launch vehicle, clearly you can only attain some utter maximum speed, and below that the launcher has a mass/speed performance envelope. The launch speed dictates the relationship between launch and arrival dates, and arrival speeds. Specify some other parameters (like launch speed) and you introduce a coupling between arrival date and/or speed and location. It might be possible to tune the trajectory to a lower entry speed, but not if you force the landing site to be in a particular place. Thus it might be that you could 'take the slow road' to Mars, but maybe not to get exactly where you want to. I think Doug meant all of the above, but was just saying 'orbital mechanics' as shorthand... ;-) |
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