A departure from the conventional concept of round-trip space travel is introduced. It is shown that a substantial reduction in the initial load required of the Shuttle or other launch vehicle can be achieved by staging the ascent orbit and leaving fuel for the return trip at each stage of the orbit. Examples of round trips from a low-inclination LEO to a high-inclination LEO and from an LEO to a GEO are used to show the merits of the new concept. Potential problem areas and research needed for the development of an efficient space transportation network are discussed.


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    Title :

    Advanced transportation concept for round-trip space travel


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    AAS/AIAA Astrodynamics Conference ; 1987 ; Kalispell, MT, United States


    Publication date :

    1988-01-01


    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English




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