College - Author 1

College of Engineering

Department - Author 1

Aerospace Engineering Department

Degree Name - Author 1

BS in Aerospace Engineering

Date

2011

Primary Advisor

Kira Abercromby, College of Engineering, Aerospace Engineering Department

Abstract/Summary

The NASA Galileo mission was mapped out using a patched conics approximation. Galileo launched from Earth, underwent a gravity assist from Venus back to Earth for another gravity assist. Galileo then came back to Earth for one more gravity assist to propel it to Jupiter. A simulation ignoring all perturbations (i.e. third body effects, zonal (harmonics, solar wind, drag) was carried out. The simulation was able to make it to the final Earth flyby before diverging from the actual trajectory. The simulated and actual flyby dates all differed by less than 5 hours, and the simulated and actual flyby altitudes differed by less than 2,000 km.

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Astrodynamics Commons

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