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Aerobraking at Triton
nprev
post Jan 15 2007, 02:01 PM
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Flying on Triton is no problem; you just need a chopper with blades a couple of kilometers long... rolleyes.gif

(Semi)seriously, would anything we think of as atmospheric flight work at all on Triton? I doubt that even a balloon "filled" with several cubic km of lab-quality vacuum would generate enough lift to get itself off the surface, much less a useful payload. Mars by comparison is a veritable pressure cooker.


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tty
post Jan 15 2007, 07:54 PM
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QUOTE (nprev @ Jan 15 2007, 03:01 PM) *
(Semi)seriously, would anything we think of as atmospheric flight work at all on Triton? I doubt that even a balloon "filled" with several cubic km of lab-quality vacuum would generate enough lift to get itself off the surface, much less a useful payload. Mars by comparison is a veritable pressure cooker.


The question is, would the atmosphere be dense enough for aerobraking? If so an aerobraking orbit with a peritritonium a couple of kilometers above the surface would presumably permit obtaining some fairly dramatic realtime video footage. In theory you should be able to come right down to daisycutter altitude, but the uncertainties of the local gravity field and relief would require some margin. It might also be a good idea to avoid geyser plumes. Hypersonic snowflakes can be nasty.

tty
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Posts in this topic
- nprev   Aerobraking at Triton   Jan 15 2007, 02:01 PM
- - tty   QUOTE (nprev @ Jan 15 2007, 03:01 PM) (Se...   Jan 15 2007, 07:54 PM
|- - helvick   QUOTE (tty @ Jan 15 2007, 07:54 PM) The q...   Jan 16 2007, 07:37 AM
|- - tty   QUOTE (helvick @ Jan 16 2007, 08:37 AM) A...   Jan 16 2007, 07:26 PM
- - nprev   Interesting thought, TTY. I guess wind isn't e...   Jan 16 2007, 02:09 AM
- - edstrick   Without taking the <for me excessive> time t...   Jan 16 2007, 12:20 PM
- - edstrick   My *PREJUDICE* is that any atmosphere thick enough...   Jan 17 2007, 09:39 AM
|- - helvick   QUOTE (edstrick @ Jan 17 2007, 09:39 AM) ...   Jan 17 2007, 06:00 PM
- - nprev   Hmm...Helvick saves the day again with his powerfu...   Jan 17 2007, 10:42 PM
|- - Bob Shaw   QUOTE (nprev @ Jan 17 2007, 10:42 PM) Tha...   Jan 18 2007, 12:06 AM
- - Greg Hullender   Why use Triton, though? Neptune has all kinds of ...   Jan 18 2007, 12:38 AM
- - djellison   That is what I was thinking - Neptune would really...   Jan 18 2007, 12:44 AM
- - nprev   Limited as it is, Triton's atmosphere is still...   Jan 18 2007, 02:43 AM
- - Greg Hullender   Here's a question I've wanted to ask to an...   Jan 18 2007, 06:17 AM
- - mchan   Some of the Neptune / Triton mission studies propo...   Jan 18 2007, 08:41 AM
- - tasp   With the Voyager 2 data in hand, and the capabilit...   Jan 18 2007, 03:22 PM
- - djellison   To conduct aerobraking at Mars - they used much of...   Jan 18 2007, 03:26 PM
|- - helvick   This is particularly true for Triton where there i...   Jan 18 2007, 06:45 PM
- - nprev   In engineering terms, how adaptable can an aerobra...   Jan 19 2007, 01:36 AM
- - tasp   You're idea has merits, but the resulting path...   Jan 24 2007, 06:03 PM
|- - JRehling   QUOTE (tasp @ Jan 24 2007, 10:03 AM) You...   Jan 25 2007, 04:22 PM
- - nprev   I like your idea, JR. What would be REALLY cool is...   Jan 25 2007, 01:40 AM
- - tasp   Presumably, the uncertainties in braking would inc...   Jan 26 2007, 03:47 AM
- - tasp   Seems like repeated banking during decel could inc...   Jan 26 2007, 03:55 AM
- - dvandorn   If you're talking about bleeding off NH or Voy...   Jan 26 2007, 04:11 AM
- - nprev   I don't think direct entry is an option, given...   Jan 26 2007, 04:22 AM
- - tasp   {sorry, I have no idea how to link this in a post,...   Aug 20 2009, 09:57 PM


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