A space probe is to be placed in a circular orbit of radius 4000 km about the
Question:
A space probe is to be placed in a circular orbit of radius 4000 km about the planet Mars. As the probe reaches A, the point of its original trajectory closest to Mars, it is inserted into a first elliptic transfer orbit by reducing its speed. This orbit brings it to Point B with a much reduced velocity. There the probe is inserted into a second transfer orbit by further reducing its speed. Knowing that the mass of Mars is 0.1074 times the mass of the earth, that rA = 9000 km and rB = 180,000 km, and that the probe approaches A on a parabolic trajectory, determine the time needed for the space probe to travel from A to B on its first transfer orbit.
Step by Step Answer:
Vector Mechanics for Engineers Statics and Dynamics
ISBN: 978-0073398242
11th edition
Authors: Ferdinand Beer, E. Russell Johnston Jr., David Mazurek, Phillip Cornwell, Brian Self