What is it about?
Using lunar swingbys to alternatively raise and lower the apogee of an elliptical orbit, and also move it so that the apogees always point away from the Sun, in the approximate direction of the geomagnetic tail.
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Why is it important?
It allows scientific observations of the geomagnetic tail over extended periods of time. The dynamics of formation of auroral displays were first worked out by analyzing observations from the first spacecraft that flew the double lunar swingby orbits described in the paper. It also turned out to be a powerful, cost-effective way to align an orbit to send a spacecraft to a nearby interplanetary destination. The method was used by the International Sun-Earth Explorer 3 spacecraft that became the first spacecraft to visit a comet, Giacobini-Zinner, in 1985.
Perspectives
My co-author Robert Farquhar, now deceased, had the basic idea; he was a brilliant celestial mechanician. With help from co-workers, especially Sylvia Davis (now Sylvia Devlin), I calculated the first double-lunar swingby trajectories, proving that Farquhar's ideas worked. It was great working with him.
Dr David W Dunham
KinetX Aerospace
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: A new trajectory concept for exploring the earth's geomagnetic tail, Journal of Guidance Control and Dynamics, March 1981, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA),
DOI: 10.2514/3.19733.
You can read the full text:
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