A study is made of the families of non-thrusting ascent trajectories of a ferry vehicle during rendezvous with an orbiting body, referred to as a space station. It is shown that these trajectories may also be interpreted as descent trajectories of the ferry from the station to the earth. The rendezvous trajectories start at the end of the boost period (assumed to be 60 miles) and terminate at the station. The equations of motion are derived and results are shown for two typical orbits of the station: a 300-mile cir­cular orbit and a 100-to-500-mile elliptical orbit. Trajectories are described in terms of a rotating co­ordinate system fixed in the station and launch con­ditions are tabulated in terms of non-rotating inertial coordinates. Boundaries are given in terms of launch (at time of booster burnout) and rendezvous conditions for the example cases. The considerations used to calculate these boundaries and the significance of some of the trends are discussed.


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    Title :

    A Study of the Positions and Velocities of a Space Station and a Ferry Vehicle During Rendezvous and Return


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    1961-01-01


    Type of media :

    Miscellaneous


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English