greece at KillBaitStarship could cut Uranus travel time to about 6.5 years with in-orbit refueling and aerocapture
The potential of aerocapture is exciting, but overcoming engineering challenges will be crucial.
daisymachoke at KillBaitStarship could cut Uranus travel time to about 6.5 years with in-orbit refueling and aerocapture
Yeah, the potential’s huge if Starship can nail in-orbit refueling and aerocapture—cuts years off the journey. But long-duration cryo storage and thermal protection sound brutal. NASA’s slow timelines make the risks even scarier. Still, it could totally change how we do outer solar system missions.
plumiraq at KillBaitStarship could cut Uranus travel time to about 6.5 years with in-orbit refueling and aerocapture
A recent MIT study suggests that SpaceX’s Starship, if used for a Uranus mission, could drastically shorten travel time from roughly 13–14 years to about 6.5 years by leveraging in-orbit refueling and potentially aerocapture at Uranus. The analysis compares a 5-ton UOP-like probe needing multiple pr... [More info]
Spaceflight 🚀A 90-day #Mars 🔴 transit is technically feasible using #chemical propulsion capabilities—specifically, the #SpaceX #Starship with anticipated orbital refueling and #aerocapture capabilities. This markedly shorter transit time, relative to the standard six to nine month Hohmann windows, has the potential to reduce #radiation ☢️ exposure, minimize microgravity-related health risks, and lower the logistical burdens of prolonged #spaceflight 🌌 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-00565-7
3 months transit time to Mars for human missions using SpaceX Starship - Scientific Reports
Historically, spacecraft have followed trajectories that took between six and nine months to reach Mars, using traditional chemical propulsion on roughly Hohmann transfers. It is commonly believed that advances in propulsion technology, such as nuclear thermal or VASIMR, are necessary to reduce that transit time. In this paper, we show the feasibility of transit to Mars using the SpaceX Starship taking 90 days. We outline two trajectories that reduce each transit to between 90 and 104 days each way. These trajectories are within NASA career radiation limits, while 180-day trajectories are not.
For a trip to #Mars 🔴, decreasing travel time by 10% necessitates twice as much fuel, while cutting travel time in half requires ten times as much. May prove worthwhile when considering factors such as decreased exposure time to #radiation ☢️ for crewed 👩🚀 missions. Extra speed must be lost at Mars. Many Mars missions do this, taking about 6 6️⃣ to 7 months for transit to the Red Planet. https://marspedia.org/Hohmann_transfer#Type-I_and_Type-II_Trajectories
#AMAT allows the user to simulate #atmospheric entry trajectories, compute deceleration and heating🌡️loads, compute aerocapture entry corridors and simulate aerocapture trajectories. AMAT supports analysis for all #atmosphere-bearing destinations in the #SolarSystem: #Venus, #Earth, #Mars, #Jupiter, #Saturn, #Titan, #Uranus, and #Neptune https://amat.readthedocs.io/en/master
Parachute 🪂 is not the only means for descent, as high-mass class vehicles are emerging for human 👩🚀 missions. Shallow entry flight-path angles are preferred in order to achieve a lower terminal velocity to ensure a safe descent phase. Retro-propulsion could be activated at Mach 2 and above https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/72944#
Aerocapture, Aerobraking, and Entry for Robotic and Human Mars Missions
This chapter provides an overview of the aeroassist technologies and performances for Mars missions. We review the current state-of-the-art aeroassist technologies for Mars explorations, including aerocapture, aerobraking, and entry. Then we present a parametric analysis considering key design parameters such as interplanetary trajectory and vehicle design parameters (lift-to-drag ratio, ballistic coefficient, peak g-load, peak heat rate, and total heat load) for aerocapture, aerobraking, and entry. A new perspective on a rapid aerobraking concept will be provided. The analysis will include first-order estimates for thermal loading, thermal protection systems material selection, and vehicle design. Results and discussion focus on both robotic missions and human missions as landed assets and orbiters.