Well, thanks! I'm in the mission control area right now, so here's another score for slashdot.
Of course the next six months of aerobraking will be the hardest, but being in orbit is fantastic.
Colin Pillinger comes up with these claims from time to time. It allows him to say, "Oh, it very nearly worked" instead of admitting it was astonishingly poorly run and underfunded. Just google his comments pre-launch and you'll see karma in action.
He's as close to a crackpot to anyone you'll find.
Everybody above basically has it right (i.e., Earth-Mars trajectories and planetary rotation), but the launch windows have also been shifted slightly to allow telemetry to come down near the upper stage separation. And most of the windows are actually 2 hours long, except on 8/11 and 8/18 (90 minutes).
It's worth considering the source of the energy you need. If you are using a typical solid or liquid propellant, then the Hohmann-type trajectories are optimal. Of course you don't get these more than every 23 months, and some opportunities are better than others because of relative inclination and planetary orbit eccentricities (this year's MRO launch is particularly nasty).
Anyway, if you are using something like solar propulsion then you get 'free' energy and a completely different launch/arrival space due to the ability to thrust constantly.
Just being pedantic.
Slashdot Mirror
Well, thanks! I'm in the mission control area right now, so here's another score for slashdot. Of course the next six months of aerobraking will be the hardest, but being in orbit is fantastic.
If memory serves me, Clinton was elected in 1992 and 1996. I forget who was elected in 2000, though.
Colin Pillinger comes up with these claims from time to time. It allows him to say, "Oh, it very nearly worked" instead of admitting it was astonishingly poorly run and underfunded. Just google his comments pre-launch and you'll see karma in action. He's as close to a crackpot to anyone you'll find.
Too bad. Gaiman's work is a lot more interesting.
I challenge anyone to find a worse movie than http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0143096/ . Not counting movies by George Lucas, anyway.
Everybody above basically has it right (i.e., Earth-Mars trajectories and planetary rotation), but the launch windows have also been shifted slightly to allow telemetry to come down near the upper stage separation. And most of the windows are actually 2 hours long, except on 8/11 and 8/18 (90 minutes).
It's worth considering the source of the energy you need. If you are using a typical solid or liquid propellant, then the Hohmann-type trajectories are optimal. Of course you don't get these more than every 23 months, and some opportunities are better than others because of relative inclination and planetary orbit eccentricities (this year's MRO launch is particularly nasty). Anyway, if you are using something like solar propulsion then you get 'free' energy and a completely different launch/arrival space due to the ability to thrust constantly. Just being pedantic.