Mercury mission

[Altaïr]

Well, that's THE one I definitely had to do!

So I'll start from LEO, as required:

I'm even a tiny bit lower than the starting altitude.

When we go to Mercury, the first step is to go to Venus as usual:

The injection burn is made on 2 passes to maximize the Oberth effect.

Then on Venus encounter, I perform a high fly-by to chain a second gravity assist:


The second gravity assist sends me directly towards Mercury, close to its perigee:


Now the tedious part, I have to get an encounter with Mercury:


Now that it's done, it's all a matter of chaining gravity assists with Mercury. Here's the first one:


I left Mercury on a resoning orbit, so the second encounter came quickly fast.

To be continued...

 

[Altaïr]

Then comes the second gravity assist:


Again, I get another encounter with Mercury for another gravity assist:

This time I turn on the engine to lower the apohelion. Then I raise the periapsis of my ship, to minimize the encounter speed:


After 12 turns, I get the final encounter, then insertion in Low Mercury Orbit:


Then finally, the landing phase:


The mission should end there, but I still have some fuel. So let's return in orbit!

Now with what I have left, I won't go anywhere. Well, mission accomplished I suppose

 

[Pink]

Landing on mercury with enough fuel to reach solar orbit again?
Space Stig does it again...

 

[EmberSkyMedia]

Landing on mercury with enough fuel to reach solar orbit again?
Space Stig does it again...

He is making the rest of us look bad… I haven’t posted my results for this mission yet for… obvious reasons.

 

[Pink]

He is making the rest of us look bad… I haven’t posted my results for this mission yet for… obvious reasons.

It's ok, Space Stig has always been on another level

 

[Altaïr]

Landing on mercury with enough fuel to reach solar orbit again?
Space Stig does it again...

Oh, I'm only in Mercury orbit. But after you said I had to check...

And yes I can reach solar orbit! Barely though.
Nice badge, thanks Moon

He is making the rest of us look bad… I haven’t posted my results for this mission yet for… obvious reasons.

I take it as a compliment, thanks. But that's nothing impossible, I had to learn too. If I could make it, anyone can do it.

 

[Space_geek25]

Oh, I'm only in Mercury orbit. But after you said I had to check...
View attachment 88100
And yes I can reach solar orbit! Barely though.
Nice badge, thanks Moon


I take it as a compliment, thanks. But that's nothing impossible, I had to learn too. If I could make it, anyone can do it.

How did you get 2 fly-by of Venus?

 

[Altaïr]

How did you get 2 fly-by of Venus?

It depends on your exit trajectory after the first fly-by.

At the beginning, my transfer trajectory is the following:

The transfer to Venus is not optimal at all, but that's intentional. If I choose a less energetic transfer, I won't naturally reach Mercury after the second slingshot and I'll have to use my engine and some fuel to compensate.

Regarding the fly-by, I aim for a periapsis around 1700-1800 km:

I could get a greater deviation by flying closer to Venus, but that's not the intention here. Instead I'll make sure to get a second encounter with Venus. I do this by adjusting slightly my periapsis, by burning sideways:


At that stage I can even adjust the next fly-by. For the next one, I'll want a maximum deviation, so this time I pass as close as possible to the planet:


And this time, this is magic:


Trajectories that rely on gravity assist often do this: the purpose is not always to get the greatest effect you can, but also to chain gravity assists to cumulate the effects.

 

[Noor Nehan]

Then comes the second gravity assist:
View attachment 88032 View attachment 88033 View attachment 88034 View attachment 88035

Again, I get another encounter with Mercury for another gravity assist:
View attachment 88036 View attachment 88037 View attachment 88038 View attachment 88039
This time I turn on the engine to lower the apohelion. Then I raise the periapsis of my ship, to minimize the encounter speed:
View attachment 88040 View attachment 88041

After 12 turns, I get the final encounter, then insertion in Low Mercury Orbit:
View attachment 88042 View attachment 88043 View attachment 88044 View attachment 88045 View attachment 88046

Then finally, the landing phase:
View attachment 88047 View attachment 88048

The mission should end there, but I still have some fuel. So let's return in orbit!
View attachment 88049 View attachment 88050
Now with what I have left, I won't go anywhere. Well, mission accomplished I suppose

Can you pls post a video doing the mission pls? (Necropost alert)

 

[ILovespace3]

1 year necropost

Necropost alert!

 

[Noor Nehan]

1 year necropost

Necropost alert!
View attachment 106896

Stop spamming it man