Smart-1 Qustion

[mikejz]

I was reading that Smart-1 was going to use Ion-Drive to boost its orbit until it reaches the moon, however, I have not read anything of a burn to actually put it into lunar orbit--seeing that ion does not have the thust to do it, how does Smart-1 plan on getting into Lunar orbit?

 

[alexblackwell]

<i>I was reading that Smart-1 was going to use Ion-Drive to boost its orbit until it reaches the moon, however, I have not read anything of a burn to actually put it into lunar orbit--seeing that ion does not have the thust to do it, how does Smart-1 plan on getting into Lunar orbit?</i><br /><br />After a lengthy Earth spiralling phase to increase its apogee, SMART-1 is captured into lunar orbit at an unstable gravitational boundary between the Earth and the moon, about 28,000 km above the latter. SMART-1 then completes capture by thrusting down with its ion engine to an operational lunar orbit with a 7200-km semi-major axis. This maneuver should take about 32 days.

 

[alexblackwell]

"I Think I Can, I Think I Can:" SMART-1 Beginning to Feel the Tug of Lunar Gravity<br />by Emily Lakdawalla<br />The Planetary Society<br />August 13, 2004<br /><br />"SMART-1 is arriving ahead of schedule. By conserving fuel, mission planners have been able to skip doing two risky lunar flybys. According to ESA Chief Scientist and SMART-1 Project Scientist Bernard Foing, 'We now have a new trajectory design, where instead of capture in January 2005, we will capture on the 15th of November 2004. That depends of course on everything being nominal from now to then, so there will be a bit of suspense on the exact time, but it is likely to be the 15th of November.'"

 

[flynn]

Quote "Like a child let loose on a Spirograph" Flynn - 2003 <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

Thanks for posting, its always good to hear an update on these missions that slip the mind occasionally. I find Smart-1 a terribly exciting mission. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

Latest from ESA Portal.<br /><br /><b>Last ion engine thrust puts SMART-1 on the right track for its Moon encounter</b><br /><br /> <br />18 October 2004<br />ESA PR 56-2004. From 10 to 14 October the ion engine of ESA’s SMART-1 carried out a continuous thrust manoeuvre in a last major push that will get the spacecraft to the Moon capture point on 13 November.<br /> <br />SMART-1, on its way to the Moon, has now covered more than 80 million kilometres. Its journey started on 27 September 2003, when the spacecraft was launched on board an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Since then, it has been spiralling in progressively larger orbits around Earth, to eventually be captured by the lunar gravity and enter into orbit around the Moon in November this year. <br />The SMART-1 mission was designed to pursue two main objectives. The first is purely technological: to demonstrate and test a number of space techniques to be applied to future interplanetary exploration missions. The second goal is scientific, mainly dedicated to lunar science. It is the technology demonstration goal, in particular the first European flight test of a solar-powered ion engine as a spacecraft’s main propulsion system, that gave shape to the peculiar route and duration (13 months) of the SMART-1 journey to the Moon. <br /><br />The long spiralling orbit around Earth, which is bringing the spacecraft closer and closer to the Moon, is needed for the ion engine to function and be tested over a distance comparable to that a spacecraft would travel during a possible interplanetary trip. The SMART-1 mission is also testing the response of a spacecraft propelled by such an engine during gravity-assisted manoeuvres. These are techniques currently used on interplanetary journeys, which make use of the gravitational pull of celestial objects (e.g. planets) for the spacecraft to gain acceleration and reach its final target while saving fuel. <br /><br />In SMART-1’s case, the Moon’s gravi <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>

 

[flynn]

During the night of 15 to 16 November, ESA’s SMART-1 will reach the first of its closest approaches to the Moon after a 13-month journey. Then the spacecraft will begin adjusting its orbit around the Moon in preparation for a scientific investigation of its surface, starting in January.<br /><br /><i> full story (although thats about it)</i><br /><br />http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEM0M31A90E_index_0.html <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <font color="#800080">"All God does is watch us and kill us when we get boring. We must never, ever be boring" - <strong>Chuck Palahniuk</strong>.</font> </div>