Questions tagged [three-body]
Questions regarding the relative motion of three masses.
47
questions
0
votes
0
answers
124
views
Why is the Sun influence a mere perturbation to the Moon NRHO (the orbit the Gateway should be put in the context of project Artemis)?
An article of the relevant literature Heliocentric Escape and Lunar Impact from Near Rectilinear Halo Orbits asserts: "As the spacecraft departs the immediate vicinity of the NRHO, the effects of ...
- 11
4
votes
0
answers
35
views
Can Tisserand's parameter be modified to correct for perturbing eccentricity?
Tisserand's parameter is an "almost" conserved quantity in the CR3BP, even after flybys (useful for identifying asteroids).
$$T_P = \dfrac{a_p}{a}+2\sqrt{\dfrac{a}{a_p}(1-e^2)}\cos(i)$$
It ...
1
vote
1
answer
131
views
At what point did Artemis 1's Orion execute the orbital inclination change for its return transit?
Orion is returning to Earth with a marked orbital inclination compared to its Lunar Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO).
Orbital inclination changes require a great deal of delta-v, and Orion is on a tight ...
- 17.6k
2
votes
0
answers
49
views
What is the substantial difference between transit orbits and manifold trajectories in the frame of circular restricted three body problem?
In my MSc thesis I faced the problem of unstable hyperbolic invariant manifold trajectories (UHIMs) emanating from planar Lyapunov orbits around two collinear Lagrange points L1 and L2 of the Sun-...
- 433
12
votes
1
answer
2k
views
If Earth had a second moon, where would it be positioned? [closed]
Could Earth theoretically have another moon, beside the existing one, that would have a stable orbit? If it is possible, could Newtonian physics describe where it would be (i.e its position relative ...
- 231
3
votes
1
answer
198
views
What are "transcritical, pitchfork, period-doubling, torus, and subharmonic bifurcations" in the context of three-body orbits? (e.g. butterflies)
MattB's excellent and well-sourced answer to Where do the butterflies land on this bifurcation plot? (Earth-Moon three-body butterfly orbits) begins:
I'm fairly certain that the butterfly family is ...
- 149k
1
vote
1
answer
153
views
Where do the butterflies land on this bifurcation plot? (Earth-Moon three-body butterfly orbits)
Below is a $\mu = 0.01215$ bifurcation plot from E. J. Doedel, E.J. et al's Elemental periodic orbits associated with the libration points in the circular restricted 3-body problem International ...
- 149k
6
votes
0
answers
356
views
How does JPL define the exact position of Lagrange points in the real solar system where (I thought that) they can't be defined?
My answer to Does the distance to L2 vary? is
The correct answer is "No, they are only mathematically defined when the orbit is circular".
but @DavidHammen's answer explains that they can ...
- 149k
0
votes
1
answer
235
views
Where is Artemis on this Earth-Moon three-body bifurcation plot? Where's the near-rectilinear halo orbit for example?
Below is a $\mu = 0.01215$ bifurcation plot from E. J. Doedel, E.J. et al's Elemental periodic orbits associated with the libration points in the circular restricted 3-body problem International ...
- 149k
5
votes
1
answer
662
views
Why did we think that the object was gonna hit the Moon March 4th 2022? Who's been tracking and predicting it so closely?
The Guardian's 'Out-of-control' Chinese rocket falling to Earth... Oops, I mean Out-of-control SpaceX rocket on collision course with moon says that Bill Gray's Project Pluto/DSCOVR says that the 2015 ...
- 149k
11
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is JWST Halo orbit prograde or retrograde and why?
There is confusion in my mind over the direction of JWST’s halo orbit, depending in the source of graphics.
Observing from the Earth, does JWST orbit clockwise or counterclockwise around the antisolar ...
- 17.6k
6
votes
1
answer
504
views
JWST Halo Orbits for Dummies: can halo orbits be usefully approximated by Simple Harmonic Motion?
Halo Orbits for Dummies: can halo orbits be usefully approximated by Simple Harmonic Motion?
I am an undergraduate in the Kerbal Academy of Astrodynamics. Patched conics have given me an intuitive ...
- 17.6k
2
votes
1
answer
162
views
After CAPSTONE inserted to "highly efficient ballistic lunar transfer trajectory" by Lunar Photon; to what separate orbit for its safe disposal? How?
NASA Ames's feature CAPSTONE’s CubeSat Prepares for Lunar Flight says
CAPSTONE will use a hydrazine-fueled propulsion system during most of its three- to four- month journey to the Moon. This line of ...
- 149k
6
votes
1
answer
454
views
Is there a fairly detailed outline of CAPSTONE's "highly efficient ballistic lunar transfer trajectory" from LEO to lunar near-rectilinear halo orbit?
NASA Ames's feature CAPSTONE’s CubeSat Prepares for Lunar Flight says
CAPSTONE will use a hydrazine-fueled propulsion system during most of its three- to four- month journey to the Moon. This line of ...
- 149k
3
votes
1
answer
154
views
Did New Horizons look for "sailboats" in the Pluto-Charon system's sailboat region? Did it pass through it or avoid it?
In this answer to If we could send an orbiter to the Pluto-Charon system, could we put it in a stable orbit? I wrote:
Totally by accident I've just happened to run across the 2014 open access paper A ...
- 149k
1
vote
0
answers
80
views
Earth-Sun decayed L1 to L4 transfer
Assume CR3BP (Circular Restricted 3-Body Problem) where a satellite occupies the Earth-Sun L1 point. The satellite dies, stops station-keeping, experiences a small perturbation (minimal effect on ...
- 11
3
votes
0
answers
217
views
Hill approximation of the CRTBP (Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem) derivation
Dear fellow space enthusiasts,
Let us first consider the classical CRTBP equations of motion by defining the position vector of the spacecraft
\begin{equation}
\boldsymbol{r}=[x,y,z]^{T},
\end{...
- 31
1
vote
2
answers
266
views
Why does it cost more to get to L4/5 than C3=0?
I was looking at Delta-V budgets and noticed that it costs 4.1 km/s to get from LEO to L4/5, but just 3.2 km/s for LEO to geocentric C3 = 0 (escape velocity).
I find that counter-intuitive. Why does ...
- 7,996
2
votes
1
answer
154
views
Nickname and citation for famous, historic three-body spacecraft trajectory design "manual"; something like "DoKaRoMo"?
There is a heavily-cited work about the use of three-body orbits with four authors, I think some at NASA at the time. I know that I've cited this abbreviation in my own posts a few times, but I can't ...
- 149k
4
votes
1
answer
355
views
Station-keeping delta-v per year for an Earth-Moon vanilla halo orbit?
This answer reminds us that an Earth-Moon L1 or L2 vanilla1 halo orbit remaining always visible to some patch on the Moon's surface requires station-keeping.
Queqiao uses such an orbit having ...
- 149k
8
votes
3
answers
598
views
Why shouldn't we illustrate spacecraft trajectories on top of static zero velocity pseudo-potential surfaces?
Three-body spacecraft orbits1 are regularly discussed here and from time to time someone will include a pseudo-potential plot from Wikipedia in their explanation.
The discussion often goes south when ...
- 149k
8
votes
1
answer
427
views
Thrown-together $200 million mission to asteroid 2020 SO; check out or nudge to longer-lasting mini-moon orbit
This tweet says in part:
Earth's potential new minimoon, 2020 SO may be the Surveyor 2 Centaur rocket body, launched in September 1966. Integrating backwards shows 2020 SO2 to also be orbiting Earth ...
- 149k
4
votes
1
answer
176
views
How many times will the Photon fire its Curie in order to "reach the right spot" to deploy CAPSTONE towards the Moon?
The Verge's How small launcher Rocket Lab plans to pull off its first mission to the Moon next year says (though this has since been addressed†):
Photon is going to need it all in order to get NASA’s ...
- 149k
1
vote
0
answers
94
views
How is it possible to connect trajectories at a Poincare section using the "bisection" method?
When constructing a heteroclinic connection (a connection between two different periodic orbits at two different libration points), the stable and unstable manifolds of two different libration points ...
- 1,367
3
votes
1
answer
126
views
What does the term "libration point gateway" mean?
In the Circular Restricted Three Body Problem, natural paths exist between periodic orbits or the libration points that have negligible cost. These are commonly known as free transfers between ...
- 1,367
2
votes
1
answer
297
views
Is the Jacobi constant stationary along a periodic orbit?
In the book called "Chaotic Worlds: from Order to Disorder in Gravitational N-Body Dynamical Systems", link here, the author states that if the dynamical system has an integral of motion which is not ...
- 1,367
7
votes
1
answer
1k
views
What is the physical interpretation of the eigenvalues of the monodromy matrix and how are they associated with the invariant manifolds?
To define the monodromy matrix, assume that the period for one cycle of a halo orbit is denoted as $T$, the initial time as $t_0$, and the state-transition matrix is defined as $\phi$. Then, the ...
- 1,367
3
votes
2
answers
523
views
Are there some three-body orbits that can't be escaped? Can we know without propagating forever?
update: Searching for "choreographies" I found this Physics SE question which is related but different because it asks only if periodic solutions can be proven to be periodic numerically and my ...
- 149k
2
votes
2
answers
413
views
Who called the Lagrangian points as "Libration" points and and why was the terminology "Libration" used?
I am curious about the naming and why were the equilibrium solutions of the CR3BP called as Libration points? Who called them that and what is the history behind it?
- 1,367
2
votes
0
answers
84
views
How can you construct the periodic orbits around libration points L1 and L2 in the circular restricted three-body problem and prove their existence?
Following up on a previous question about the classification of periodic orbits, how can they be constructed, especially the planar Lyapunov family, around libration points $L_1$ and $L_2$? And how ...
- 1,367
5
votes
1
answer
289
views
Why do we prefer using the rotating reference frame rather than the Inertial frame in the three-body problem?
As the title says, I wanted to ask why do we prefer using the rotating reference frame rather than the Inertial frame in the three-body problem to place the primaries?
And how is it better for ...
- 1,367
8
votes
1
answer
546
views
How does a butterfly orbit move in 3D? Way to generate or visualize?
The paper Earth-Moon Near Rectilinear Halo and Butterfly Orbits for Lunar Surface Exploration (AAS 18-406) says
Periodic Orbits in the Earth-Moon System
The current investigation focuses on three ...
- 149k
7
votes
3
answers
3k
views
Does Kerbal Space Program have a software migration path to Lagrange points, halo orbits, and other 3-body goodies?
At about 05:37 in Scott Manley video Kerbal Space Program 2 - What We Know About The Sequel
So I’m cautiously optimistic and I really obviously want this to be ...
- 149k
2
votes
2
answers
305
views
Do horseshoe orbits have anything to do with Lagrange points? Do words fail us here?
I said
(2010 SO16 is associated with Lagrange point L3 but wanders so far behind and ahead of it that the orbit is called "horseshoe"...
and the comment was made:
Not really. L3 is unstable. ...
- 149k
4
votes
1
answer
158
views
How well can the orbits of Jupiter Trojans to be visited by Lucy be predicted?
The orbits of the large planets are very well known and their position may be precisely predicted for the planning of complex swing by maneuvers of interplanetary space probes. There are exact ...
- 48.8k
4
votes
1
answer
414
views
Do ("non-halo") Lissajous orbits have stable/unstable manifolds?
The question Did DSCOVR travel “along the stable manifold of its future SE L1 Halo orbit” to get there? is specific to DSCOVR's trajectory from Earth to its primarily heliocentric orbit near Sun-Earth ...
- 149k
2
votes
0
answers
547
views
How to find Near Rectilinear Halo Orbits (NHROs)?
Looking all the good questions and answers in this site referent to CR3BP dynamics, periodic orbits, state transition matrices, etc. I wonder:
what algorithm or steps do I have to follow to find the ...
- 1,772
3
votes
0
answers
239
views
Software (besides Ltool) to simulate CR3BP (three body) problems?
Are there any other softwares for CR3BP besides Ltool? As I've learnt here Ltool is not generally available to the public. I would like to simulate three body orbits within the standard circular ...
1
vote
1
answer
272
views
Distant retrograde Orbit in CR3BP Question
How can i calculate the initial vy0 component for a distant retrograde orbit in Sun-Earth CR3BP around Earth?
- 11
21
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Going from LEO to lunar using only low-thrust ion propulsion - can it be done?
@SF.'s question What are the parameters of the new Iodine electrical rocket engine developed by RSC Energia? links to the short RT article 'Ten times cheaper': Russian space company testing iodine ...
- 149k
1
vote
1
answer
251
views
Efficient trajectories from earth orbit to EML-1
What are the lowest delta-v trajectories a spacecraft could take from Earth to EML-1? (Earth Moon Lagrange point 1). provided the payload is massive. ( the amount of time it takes is not an issue)
- 115
2
votes
0
answers
403
views
Did DSCOVR travel "along the stable manifold of its future SE L1 Halo orbit" to get there?
I just wrote (and have since removed) the following paragraph in this answer to How many times do you have to circle the Earth to break orbit?:
As can be heard in this video SpaceX's launch of the ...
- 149k
6
votes
1
answer
3k
views
"Pythagorean Three Body Problem" - need some points from an accurate solution for comparison
note: if you up-vote (or even if you don't), don't forget to scroll down and see the excellent answer as well - it's beautiful!
The Pythagorean Three Body Problem also know as Burrau's problem is a ...
- 149k
17
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Are some Halo Orbits actually Stable? (stable orbits about unstable Lagrange points)
update: some more sources; the broken site spacecraftforall.com/a-new-orbit used to have an interactive simulation, here's an old screen shot:
Hat tip to @NgPh for finding this Space College page ...
- 149k
11
votes
4
answers
850
views
Balancing a mirror
A possible way of heating up Mars is to use mirrors to direct more sunlight towards the planet. I am not asking about the feasibility or cost of such a gigantic project, but I have a question ...
4
votes
2
answers
668
views
A constant parameter in a three body system?
In a two body system, there are a lot of orbital parameters not changing over time, like eccentricity or the orbital plane.
A constant parameter can be a combination of two or more, like even though ...
12
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Low Energy Transfer within Earth-Moon system
Practical aspects of a total low energy transfer to the Moon have been seen in missions like GENESIS, which uses Weak stability Boundary legs of Earth and Sun to reach ESL-2. This four body model ...
- 1,792