Re: Slingshot around Jupiter

In message <1166133832.445651.318160@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, rcochran@xxxxxxxxxx writes
PP@xxxxxx wrote:
I saw on a video where a small spacecraft was heading for Pluto and
would do a loop around Jupiter on the way for a little boost. Does it
have to do a burn to get into orbit, then another to get out of orbit,
or is its path only being slightly bent by the pull of Jupiter?

Theoretically, no burns. In practice, there may be minor
guidance burns to fine-tune the trajectory. It's sometimes
called a "hyperbolic orbit". A google search of that term
brings up lots of hits.

Here's a rather nice page about "swingby" <http://www.isas.jaxa.jp/e/snews/2003/08_01.shtml>
Robert Heinlein's stories often use a manoeuvre where fuel is burnt at the closest approach, as depicted in "Armageddon", but AFAIK no real spacecraft has used this yet.
I may have asked this before, but what's the earliest fictional reference to a slingshot that doesn't use fuel? Arthur Clarke describes it in "The Sands of Mars" (1951)
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Dumped Fuel?
    ... > I noticed that the shuttle dumped excess fuel just after the deorbit ... My guess is that the fuel is no longer required and that it's ... Does it burn up on ... If it's still in orbit, there must be litres of the stuff up ...
    (sci.space.shuttle)
  • Re: De-orbit question
    ... >> you cannot get back to a stable orbit, if you have enough fuel. ... so unless they cutoff the de-orbit burn in the first few ... > that confirmed the OMS deorbit burn. ...
    (sci.space.shuttle)
  • Re: Slingshot around Jupiter
    ... would do a loop around Jupiter on the way for a little boost. ... have to do a burn to get into orbit, then another to get out of orbit, ...
    (sci.space.history)
  • Re: Hydrogen IS fuel
    ... >>> that provides the fuel with a means to burn. ... >>> liquid compressed state may be the safest fuel known ... > There is a great untapped hydrogen source...It's on Jupiter. ...
    (sci.energy.hydrogen)
  • Re: Dumped Fuel?
    ... If it's still in orbit, there must be litres of the stuff up ... I believe this is the forward RCS fuel dump after the deorbit burn. ... OMS and RCS fuel is not "dumped" in the traditional way as aircraft do because the fuel and oxidizer are hypergolic - they explode on contact - no ignition source needed. ...
    (sci.space.shuttle)