Analysis of Earth-Uranus Direct-Transfer Trajectory for Optimal Delta-V Using Lambert’s Problem

Abstract

: The Ice Giants may become a sought-after destination in the coming decades as researchers aim to have a better awareness of our Solar system- its origins and growth. The interplanetary trajectory optimization is an important aspect of the analysis of a mission to Uranus. This study investigates possible interplanetary paths to Uranus in the 2022-2030 timeframe. It provides a preliminary estimate of fuel consumption in units of ∆V for various mission durations. A variety of approaches can be used to travel from Earth to another planet. It is conceivable to use a direct transfer route with two engine burns, one at a parking orbit around the Earth and the other to capture around the target planet. This article emphasizes a direct transfer trajectory analysis towards Uranus using Lambert’s problem. Different lambert arcs were considered for the direct transfer. Variations of excess velocities at arrival and departure for various time-of-flight were obtained. The ceiling of the time-of-flight was fixed as 16.5 years by performing a Hohmann transfer. The minimum ∆V was obtained for various time-of-flight ranging from 8.5 years to 16.5 years. The ideal ∆V obtained during the fixed timeframe lies between 6.87 km/s and 7.98 km/s. The minimum value of ∆V was observed for the time-of-flight of 13.5 years.