Use of planetary oblateness for parking-orbit alinement
J. R. Thibodeau · NASA Technical Reports Server (NASA) · 1968
A technique relying upon the effects of gravitational harmonics for parking-orbit alinement is analyzed.The basic approach is to choose orbital eccentricity and incli nation so that the resulting nodal and apsidal motions will shift the original orbit into proper alinement for departure on the intended date.Thus, the need for propulsive maneuvers to change the orbital inclination, line of apsides, o r orbital eccentricity are reduced o r eliminated; and periapsis impulses can be used for both the capture and the escape maneuvers.Numerical results a r e presented for a long-stay-time M a r s mis sion in 1977.These results illustrate the proposed technique, but do not include com parisons with alternative methods.