Cosmic Train Schedule
Schedule of Launch Windows
for Hohmann Transfer Orbits
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These schedules were made from a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
Hohmann.xls
To download this 56 KB file
Mac users can do a sustained click and Windows users can do a right click.
This should give a "Save As" option allowing you to save the Excel
document to your disk. Then you can open it with Microsoft Office.
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The spreadsheet includes all the planets from Neptune to Mercury.
Pluto is excluded because its tilted eccentric orbit is approximated
very badly by this sheet which assumes circular, coplanar orbits.
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You may notice these trips take months to years.
This is O.K. for durable cargo but not living organisms.
Radiation shielding, a spinning hab to provide artificial gravity,
closed ecology life support systems, air, water, food,
temperature control, and robust power supply
are all desirable.
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Living cargo makes for a more massive vehicle.
Lifting this mass from a planet's gravity well and Hohmann delta-v
could be very expensive for a massive craft.
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For our first steps into the Solar System I advocate using
Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs). Many of these have hydrated clays and other
volatiles that could be used in constructing a hospitable place.
Some NEAs already follow approximately Hohmann
transfer orbits from Earth to Mars.
If habitats were constructed from these,
tiny "sardine cans" would suffice to ferry
humans on the short trip to the asteroid
when it passes through near earth space.
Perhaps fuel as well as life sustaining water and air
could be mined from these.
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Then when the asteroid is in near Mars space,
a sardine can would suffice for the short trip from
asteroid to Mars.
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An asteroid habitat would need frequent and regular
Earth fly-bys to maintain the hab.
So I prefer asteroids with Earth resonant orbits.
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5/4 year period asteroids
could pass through near earth space
every 5 years.
Also close to
Niehoff VISIT 1 Cycler
which can pass near Mars space every 3.75 years.
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4/3 year period asteroids
could pass through near Earth space
every 4 years.
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3/2 year period asteroids
could pass through near Earth space
every 3 years.
Also close to
Niehoff VISIT 2 Cycler
which can pass near Mars space every 7.5 years.
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2 year period asteroids
Could pass through near Earth space
every 2 years.
An
Aldrin cycler has a period of 2.02 years. Habs built
from these asteroids may be altered to an Aldrin cycler
with relatively little delta vee.
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