Preliminary spacecraft trajectories for 45 Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) and Pluto suitable for launch between 2025 and 2040 are presented. These 46 objects comprise all objects with H magnitude or that have received a name from the International Astronomical Union as of May 2018. Using a custom Lambert solver, trajectories are modeled after the New Horizons mission to Pluto–Charon, which consisted of a fast launch with a Jupiter gravity assist. In addition to searching for Earth–Jupiter–KBO trajectories, Earth–Saturn–KBO trajectories are examined, with the option to add on a flyby to either Uranus or Neptune. With a single Jupiter gravity assist, all 45 KBOs and Pluto can be reached within a 25 year maximum mission duration. A more limited number can be reached when non-Jupiter flybys are added, and the KBOs that can be reached via these alternate routes are listed. In most cases, a single Jupiter flyby is the most efficient way to get to the Kuiper Belt, but the science return from revisiting Saturn, Uranus, or Neptune may add substantial value to a mission, and so alternate flybys should be considered.
Return to the Kuiper Belt: Launch Opportunities from 2025 to 2040
Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets ; 56 , 3 ; 919-930
2019-05-01
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
English
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