It is shown that it is possible to deliver a payload of 600 to 2000 kg to a 300-km circular orbit at Mercury using presently available NASA Space Transportation Systems and a single-stage bipropellant chemical rocket. This superior payload performance is attained by swingbys of Venus, plus (more importantly), the use of the reverse Delta-V/EGA process. In contrast to the Delta-V/EGA process (used to boost the launch energy by returning to earth for a gravity assist), the reverse Delta-V/EGA process reduces the Mercury approach energy each time a spacecraft makes a near-resonant return to Mercury for a gravity assist and reduces the orbit-capture Delta-V requirement. The mission sequences for such high-performance missions are described, and example mission opportunities for the years 1990 to 2010 are presented.
Ballistic Mercury orbiter mission via Venus and Mercury gravity assists
01.01.1986
Aufsatz (Konferenz)
Keine Angabe
Englisch