How to Navigate a Spacecraft to Mars

EccentricAnomaly writes "JPL has an article on how to design trajectories to Mars with the porkchop plot. They use an interesting analogy between reading these plots and divining the future from animal entrails. JPL also has the most excellent Basics of Spaceflight, which is an easy to understand tutorial on how to explore deep space."

Comments

Step one of plotting a trajectory to Mars

[kfg]

Make sure everyone is using the SAME friggin' system of units.

KFG

Basics of Space Flight [Hollywood version]

[Anonymous Coward]

• You need continuous thrust. Relying on Newton's 1st law to travel is for losers.
  
• Always point toward your goal. Don't do a 180 and decelerate with your main engine, no need to match speeds.
  
• Asteroid fields should look as dense as a forest, even if in reality asteroids rarely come within a mile of each other.
  
• Shadows in space aren't totally black, because then we can't see.
  
• Show stars through windows of well-lit spaceship rooms, because they're cool.
  
• A gravity assist with the Sun will help you fly much faster.
  
• Crescents of close bodies don't need to be oriented in the same way (oops, slashdot space logo?)
  

Sounds like software development to me

[ColaMan]

Let's look at the similarities ...

It costs a shitload.

You normally have a few earlier versions that didn't perform to plan.

You need to aim at a moving target that won't be there for two years, and of course you're own platform is moving as well.

Not forgetting that if you're careless and not do your sums right , you'll crash and burn spectacularly and look like an idiot in front of the rest of the world.

The major difference is of course (drumroll , please)

In Space, no-one can hear your FUD.