The present concept for robotic lunar missions combines Pegasus-launched small vehicles with the weak-stability boundary (WSB) or 'ballistic capture' trajectory suggested by Belbruno (1991). The existence of the earth's WSB, as a result of a distance from the sun of about 1.5 million km, yields a transfer that is analogous to the parabolic case but in which the earth-to-moon transit time is only 3-5 months. The WSB technique has been demonstrated by the Japanase Hiten spacecraft, which reached the lunar vicinity after 5 months in transit.
Robotic lunar exploration using the Pegasus winged rocket and ballistic lunar capture - An update
1992-03-01
Conference paper
No indication
English
NTRS | 2006
|Rocket for manned lunar exploration
Engineering Index Backfile | 1959
|Reduction of Lunar Landing Fuel Requirements by Utilizing Lunar Ballistic Capture
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2005
|