Questions tagged [orbital-maneuver]
In spaceflight, an orbital maneuver is the use of propulsion systems to change the orbit of a spacecraft.
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Lambert's problem without collisions
Given two fixed positions in space, a source of gravity and a time of flight to travel, the theory about Lambert's problem provides a way to calculate corresponding Keplerian orbital transfers. But, ...
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Is it possible to use a solar sail in low Earth orbit, thanks to a good orientation of the sail?
I was reading this question: What is the closest to Earth you can expect lift from a solar sail? PearsonArtPhoto’s answer states that below 900 km, a solar sail cannot work because the drag on the ...
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How is the Soyuz's movement along the axes ensured using maneuvering engines?
The maneuvering engines are located outside the ship's center of mass and when turned on, they should create rotation, not movement.
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What are the use cases and challenges for a cubesat that would take pictures of other satellites?
I am currently working with a university team in designing a cubesat. I would like to propose to the team that we design a satellite that is able to take pictures of other satellites orbiting nearby. ...
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Will SpaceX ever be able to launch Starlink Satellites from Boca Chica?
Starlink satellites have orbital inclinations of 43 to 97.6 degrees (but 60% of the satellites orbit at 53*). Launch corridors in the US are over open water to avoid danger to those of us on the ...
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New Glenn and Starship testing approach differences
SpaceX has been doing suborbital flights with Starship for a while now, and intends to conduct a second in-orbit engine re-light to demonstrate de-orbit capability. Blue Origin's New Glenn has flown ...
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Calculation of a rendezvous from an elliptical orbit to another [duplicate]
I am familiar with computing rendezvous maneuvers using a Hohmann transfer when the two orbits are circular. However, when both orbits are highly elliptical, the fairly simple calculations with a ...
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Am I actually escaping Earth?
I am writing a hard-SF story where a spacecraft gets into an highly elliptical earth orbit, having its perigee at 400km but its apogee at 32 000 km (to get close to the asteroid Apophis when it ...
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Why is China's Tiangong space station inaccessible from Russia's launch sites?
I was reading Ars Technica's 9/21/2024 "NASA has a fine plan for deorbiting the ISS—unless Russia gets in the way". The article states: Russian and Chinese leaders have fostered closer ties ...
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What do these expressions mean in NASA's Steve Stitch's brief Starliner undocking statement?
After about 00:30 in The BBC's September 7, 2024 Boeing Starliner returns to earth without astronauts | BBC News, there's a clip of Steve Stitch, Manager, NASA Commercial Crew Program reading a brief ...
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GMAT Lambert problem
I would like to plan a mission in GMAT to a certain asteroid, whose orbit and SPK file I have added in GMAT. However, I don't know how to solve the Lambert problem in it to first find the intersection ...
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Interpreting phasing maneuver results using electric propulsion in GMAT
I'm trying to simulate an anomaly phasing maneuver in three different scenarios using electric propulsion in GMAT. The idea is to use the altitude difference (of ~7-8km) between two spacecrafts to ...
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Is it possible to have a closed(-ish) natural motion circumnavigation around an eccentric target? If so, what parameters define the NMC orbit?
Natural motion circumnavigation (NMC) is when a chaser spacecraft is set in an orbit similar to a target spacecraft's such that the chaser naturally circumnavigates the target spacecraft as a result ...
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E/I separation for GEO statellites
Two GEO satellites are being colocated using the E/I separation method. Typically, the eccentricity vector would trace a circular motion with the circle positioned in the first quadrant of the Ex-Ey ...
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Mean motion as indication for satellite (evasion) maneuvers
I am interested in detecting satellite maneuvers, e.g., to avoid collissions. As far as I understand the best publicly available data comes from TLEs although they have their own problems. What is the ...
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