Solar System Escape Orbits, upperstages in solar system escape orbit |
Solar System Escape Orbits, upperstages in solar system escape orbit |
Sep 16 2005, 12:28 AM
Post
#1
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 105 Joined: 27-August 05 Member No.: 479 |
In the mid 90's I was communicating with the folks over at the mission design and astrodynamics at JPL.my question was where the present locations of the upper stages of the pioneer 10 and 11 and voyager 1 and 2 are.it is pretty settled that the centaurs are in solar orbit or reentered earths atmosphere.
The solid star motors locations however was not known for sure. AIAA astrodynamics papers for the early part of these 4 missions however do state the initial injection aimpoints for these spacecraft and hence there star motors.pioneer 11 had a wide dispersion ellipes and was aimed somewhat forward of Jupiter in its orbit.this had to be corrected in pioneer 11's TCM-1 so I am not sure what orbit the star motor is in.MY guess? it would be in a Ulysses like orbit.pioneer 10 and voyager 1 and 2 had excellent initial injection aimpoints.all three where in that solar system escape trajectory that exists to about 20 30 Jupiter radii out on Jupiter trailing orbit. Therefore there are 7 objects escaping the solar system.one point of consideration is that as the spacecraft separated from the star motors the motors dropped tethered wieghts to slow them and thus engage in an avoidance manuver.but this would not have been enough to slow them from a escape trajectory. I have been trying to lobby the folks over at south west research to place a memento of humanity on the Pluto missions upper stages as a interstellar message in a bottle but so far with out much luck help me convince them fellow forum members please infocat13 |
|
|
Feb 11 2006, 05:04 AM
Post
#2
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2454 Joined: 8-July 05 From: NGC 5907 Member No.: 430 |
-------------------- "After having some business dealings with men, I am occasionally chagrined,
and feel as if I had done some wrong, and it is hard to forget the ugly circumstance. I see that such intercourse long continued would make one thoroughly prosaic, hard, and coarse. But the longest intercourse with Nature, though in her rudest moods, does not thus harden and make coarse. A hard, sensible man whom we liken to a rock is indeed much harder than a rock. From hard, coarse, insensible men with whom I have no sympathy, I go to commune with the rocks, whose hearts are comparatively soft." - Henry David Thoreau, November 15, 1853 |
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 24th April 2024 - 10:32 PM |
RULES AND GUIDELINES Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting. IMAGE COPYRIGHT |
OPINIONS AND MODERATION Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators. |
SUPPORT THE FORUM Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member. |