So, one of my first missions when I returned to the Forums, was a fully-reusable Europa rover. Back then I had recently bought the expansion, so I wasn’t used to the Jovian system, or the maneuvers I needed to do to there. The recent days, with all my gained experience I’ve decided to remake that challenge, but this time on Ganymede.
That’s right, folks… A fully reusable Ganymede rover mission…
Okay, so the Launch Vehicle is my ol’ reliable Galilea II, but this time equipped with a reusable second stage and payload, extra fuel and a new engine configuration.
So, now the vessel in orbit can begin deploying the payload. The second stage will remain in orbit and will be used as heat shield for the Ganymede mission, when this one returns to Earth.
Okay, now the route to Jupiter, you guys know it: Venus-Earth-Earth gravity assistance, then a Ganymede slingshot to capture around the gas giant. After that, several gravity assistances from Ganymede are used to help reducing your speed relative to it, to help capturing an orbit.
The plan was that the JT stage should detach after reaching Jupiter, but I’ve brought it to LGO with almost 70 percent of fuel, so I’ve decided to refuel the lander when it returns to orbit using this stage and Go for a second Jovian moon: Callisto.
So, the rover has returned to orbit and is fully fueled again. The JT stage now can detach and finally return to Earth, but let’s leave that for later, let’s continue with the rover mission.
The next target is Callisto, a short burn is needed to get there, and a not so short burn to circularize and land.
After rendezvous back with the GO ship in orbit around Callisto I decided I still had enough fuel for a THIRD landing: Europa, so I burned for Ganymede and used a slingshot of that moon to get to my destination.
Wow, this has been a long mission! Now we have to focus on returning to Earth. So, the rover must leave Europa and dock in Orbit with the GO ship… The JT Stage had to use a very lunatic maneuver to return to Earth…
REUSING THE STAGES:
Chronologically, this happens when the GO and rover are still orbiting Ganymede, after the landing on that moon…
So, after the JT has refueled the rover, has only 6 percent of fuel to return to Earth and dock with the second stage of the Galilea, so first I burned for Callisto and used a GA (Gravity Assistance) to go to a high Jovian orbit. That assistance wasn’t enough so I had to power it.
But Jupiter wasn’t in the right position to return to Earth from my current orbit and I only had 3 percent of fuel, so I had to time warp to put Jupiter in the right place, then finally burned for Callisto and used it to exit the Jovian system. However my periapsis was still at Mars’ level, and I couldn’t keep burning to reach Earth cause I had 2 percent of fuel… So I used this crazy maneuver…
I encountered Mars and Aerobraked to reach a very elliptic orbit around it, then timewarp until my orbit is in the Solar Retrograde direction, during a Mars-Earth transfer window, then a very short burn puts me enroute to Earth…
After that I just had to aerobrake and dock with the launch vessel.
That being told, in the present day, we are orbiting Europa with the GO and the rover, after we landed there, and we want to return to Earth. The procedure is basically the same, only that this time Callisto placed me on an Earth transfer trajectory by itself… So I didn’t had to use Mars this time…
Now that all the pieces are together, I just have to land them.
That concludes this mission, that was possible only thanks to gravity assistances. As you can see, it concludes with landings and rovering on 3 Jovian moons, while reusing completely ALL the stages of the rocket.
Thank you for reading ‘til the end, I am aware is a long post
That’s right, folks… A fully reusable Ganymede rover mission…
Okay, so the Launch Vehicle is my ol’ reliable Galilea II, but this time equipped with a reusable second stage and payload, extra fuel and a new engine configuration.
So, now the vessel in orbit can begin deploying the payload. The second stage will remain in orbit and will be used as heat shield for the Ganymede mission, when this one returns to Earth.
Okay, now the route to Jupiter, you guys know it: Venus-Earth-Earth gravity assistance, then a Ganymede slingshot to capture around the gas giant. After that, several gravity assistances from Ganymede are used to help reducing your speed relative to it, to help capturing an orbit.
The plan was that the JT stage should detach after reaching Jupiter, but I’ve brought it to LGO with almost 70 percent of fuel, so I’ve decided to refuel the lander when it returns to orbit using this stage and Go for a second Jovian moon: Callisto.
So, the rover has returned to orbit and is fully fueled again. The JT stage now can detach and finally return to Earth, but let’s leave that for later, let’s continue with the rover mission.
The next target is Callisto, a short burn is needed to get there, and a not so short burn to circularize and land.
After rendezvous back with the GO ship in orbit around Callisto I decided I still had enough fuel for a THIRD landing: Europa, so I burned for Ganymede and used a slingshot of that moon to get to my destination.
Wow, this has been a long mission! Now we have to focus on returning to Earth. So, the rover must leave Europa and dock in Orbit with the GO ship… The JT Stage had to use a very lunatic maneuver to return to Earth…
REUSING THE STAGES:
Chronologically, this happens when the GO and rover are still orbiting Ganymede, after the landing on that moon…
So, after the JT has refueled the rover, has only 6 percent of fuel to return to Earth and dock with the second stage of the Galilea, so first I burned for Callisto and used a GA (Gravity Assistance) to go to a high Jovian orbit. That assistance wasn’t enough so I had to power it.
But Jupiter wasn’t in the right position to return to Earth from my current orbit and I only had 3 percent of fuel, so I had to time warp to put Jupiter in the right place, then finally burned for Callisto and used it to exit the Jovian system. However my periapsis was still at Mars’ level, and I couldn’t keep burning to reach Earth cause I had 2 percent of fuel… So I used this crazy maneuver…
I encountered Mars and Aerobraked to reach a very elliptic orbit around it, then timewarp until my orbit is in the Solar Retrograde direction, during a Mars-Earth transfer window, then a very short burn puts me enroute to Earth…
After that I just had to aerobrake and dock with the launch vessel.
That being told, in the present day, we are orbiting Europa with the GO and the rover, after we landed there, and we want to return to Earth. The procedure is basically the same, only that this time Callisto placed me on an Earth transfer trajectory by itself… So I didn’t had to use Mars this time…
Now that all the pieces are together, I just have to land them.
That concludes this mission, that was possible only thanks to gravity assistances. As you can see, it concludes with landings and rovering on 3 Jovian moons, while reusing completely ALL the stages of the rocket.
Thank you for reading ‘til the end, I am aware is a long post
