Going to Jupiter? Wow thats far

[HiPotOk1978]

This is going out to anyone that has attempted this, successfully or not... I wanna go to Jupiter, but I don't want to use some futuristic space craft.. I just want to send MY infamous probe there. I wanna do it sometime this century, not via some wonderful, and rare planetary alignment. Now just for SnG's started a random scenero and used imfd to plot a course.... Well IMFD tells me I can get there in less than 100 days and gives me some god aweful DeltaV req of like 45k or so.... I know I am missing something, and don't have enough knowledge to even ask the right questions

Basically I think from this rant I am typing is that I am looking for some reading materal that some of the more professionals out there can direct me to to plan this, like the theory behind a journey of this distance

Any comments or susgestions, anything really would be of benifit

Thx

 

[TSPenguin]

My advise would be to use TransX to fish for launch windows, afaik you can not do that properly with IMFD, but I might be mistaken.

I went numerous times to Jupiter and it always has been a nice and interesting ride!

 

[Urwumpe]

you can go well to Jupiter and beyond with IMFD. You just need to remember that IMFD calculates first a solution for your current time as departure. You need to search for less expensive launch windows yourself. When you try to launch outside the optimal launch window, when Jupiter has only a very small lead angle relative to Earth, IMFD will calculate an accelerated transfer, with lot's of DV and a short travel time. A optimal launch window for Jupiter opens roughly once per year.

 

[agentgonzo]

From a quick glance at the current Solar system chart, the next opportunity to launch a Hohmann Trasnfer to Jupiter will probably be around February time next year. As TSPenguin said, you can get an accurate date for a minimal fuel transfer with TransX

 

[Woo482]

how do you use IMFD for stuff like that ? (I dont care about needing loads of Delta V)

 

[Urwumpe]

how do you use IMFD for stuff like that ? (I dont care about needing loads of Delta V)

First, you you set up a transfer from Earth to Jupiter, by specifying departure and arrival date.

Then you set up the escape burn, using the plotted course as target.

 

[ar81]

[ame="http://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=3403"]Tutorial: Concepts for Interplanetary MFD 4.2.1[/ame]

 

[HiPotOk1978]

but is a Hohmann transfer the most efficient way for a journey of that distance? I don't want to spend 10 years going to Jupiter

 

[Genius]

Does any one knows what program nasa used to calculate the trajectory for it's voyager probes?

 

[TSPenguin]

I don't know. But they most likely wrote a very specific program to utilize the supercomputers of that time.
Voyagers trajectory was only possible because of a planetary alignment that only comes around roughly every 150 (?) years.

I think you are better of making a new thread for that.

 

[Genius]

I don't know. But they most likely wrote a very specific program to utilize the supercomputers of that time.
Voyagers trajectory was only possible because of a planetary alignment that only comes around roughly every 150 (?) years.

I think you are better of making a new thread for that.

Thanks for the reply. But today's desktop PC's is yesterdays supercomputers. Am I correct to claim this?

 

[Urwumpe]

but is a Hohmann transfer the most efficient way for a journey of that distance? I don't want to spend 10 years going to Jupiter

A Hohmann transfer is the most fuel-efficient way. An Accelerated transfer is the most time-efficient way.

 

[TSPenguin]

Thanks for the reply. But today's desktop PC's is yesterdays supercomputers. Am I correct to claim this?

Yes you are, but the architecture is completely different. I am not saying it would not run. All I am saying is that in order to use the old programs you would need to emulate those computers and devices.
But then again, they might have done it all by hand and only backed themselves up with computers.

 

[Urwumpe]

Yes you are, but the architecture is completely different. I am not saying it would not run. All I am saying is that in order to use the old programs you would need to emulate those computers and devices.
But then again, they might have done it all by hand and only backed themselves up with computers.

You can download a emulator for free, which can run the original NASA software. It can simulate the whole family of System/360 and following IBM computers, I used it the last months for learning more about the Shuttle AP-101S, which uses roughly the same architecture as a System/360.

http://www.hercules-390.org/

 

[garyw]

Does any one knows what program nasa used to calculate the trajectory for it's voyager probes?

Remember that this was back in the 70's and they didn't have the software we have today.

The actual course was plotted by Gary Flandro
using nothing more than some graph paper and ruler.

 

[Linguofreak]

but is a Hohmann transfer the most efficient way for a journey of that distance? I don't want to spend 10 years going to Jupiter

A Hohmann to Jupiter takes about 2 years, 9 months, and probably 20 or 30 kps of delta-v, depending on whether you want to start from Earth's surface or from orbit, and whether you want to fly by Jupiter or go into orbit around it.

So a few questions:

What's your time budget? What's the longest amount of time you want to take getting there?

What launcher do you want to use to launch your probe? How much does your probe weigh? These will determine your delta-V budget, which will tell us what sorts of flight times and mission profiles are even possible.

Do you want to launch from the Earth's surface, or start out in orbit?

Is a flyby OK, or do you want to orbit Jupiter?

 

[HiPotOk1978]

thanks Linguofreak for the feedback. I got to remember to plan my fights not as how long it will take, also account in how much bulk I am trying to get somewhere and how much power I have to get it there.

To answer your questions I am a big fan of the Velcro Rockets set of launchers. My Venus mission that was a successful failure in its own way. I ended up getting my probe into a Venus orbit only to run out of propellant shortly after I closed the orbit. For anyone interested, the orbit will finally decay on July 22nd 2356. 4:35am atmospheric drag. The probe would have been in orbit for over 350 years! I am pretty sure in the real solar system, something would have destroyed it before that much time had passes.

Now I am sure this is what makes the brains of even the mission planners at NASA hurt for weeks or months. I currently have collected various addons and at this time, I have 60+ moons in orbit around Jupiter. I would like to see how many of the major moons I will be able to get my probe to orbit and transfer to. The challenge of course will be all those bodies in orbit have the chance to hurt, hinder or help. I know from flying to my ReFuel Base in Ganymede in a DG, the gravity fields all over the place really tugs at your course, and if you don't plan to have your course distorted, a massive ammount of course corrections will be needed. I look forward to the challenge of planning sending a probe to Jupiter to get some science done.

This also brings up an interesting project for anyone looking for something to code. I would love a mission control that will allow me to pilot a craft from a 3rd person prospective of being on earth. Something where I will need to plan my burns, send them to the probe to actually do them, and simulate the whole time delay cause of the slow speed of light issue

 

[TSPenguin]

There is at least one project working on it right now.
Besides that, there is the good old vMC. Check orbiterwiki for that.

 

[Urwumpe]

Besides, the Hohmann transfer escape velocity to Jupiter is only 15.84 km/s and the flight time is 997 days.

 

[jedidia]

A Hohmann to Jupiter takes about 2 years, 9 months

only 2 years 9 months with a Hohmann? darn, mine took me an awful lot longer... (then again, I didn't really care about the alignement...)