A Note About Resources:

Document resources located here are Adobe Acrobat documents which use the PDF format. If you do not yet have Adobe's Acrobat Reader 4, then please click on the hypertext to download it. We have chosen to use Adobe Acrobat because it multi-platform and allows for PDF documents to marked-up and highlighted like a paper documents.
Mission Planning Resources Library
Resource Title Description Format
Introduction to Mission Planning A lecture on mission planning and some topics involved in planning a mission.
Back of the Envelope Mission Planning Booklet Quick reference to various topics and equations needed for mission conceptualization, design, and planning
Spacecraft Design Lecture Notes Lecture notes for Mission Planning, a graduate class. Includes lectures 1, 2, 3, & 7
2-D Fixed delta-V Transfer Delta-V transfers without a plane change
Boost from Low Earth Orbit to Asteroids Transfers Missions to asteroids with an initial boost from low earth orbit.
Delta-V vs. C3 Charts to provide reference for comparing C3 = Vinf^2 versus Delta-V.
Earth to Planet Hohmann Transfers A step-by-step process for using Hohmann transfers for planetary missions.
Geosynchronous orbit pointing Designing a mission to place a satellite at a precise GEO orbit.
Hohmann Transfer Description Explaination, description, and examples of the Hohmann transfer.
Impulsive Delta-V Analysis Explaination of use of impulsive delta-V for orbit changes and transfers.
Mass Moments of Inertia Description of importance and analysis of mass moments of inertia in spacecraft dynamics.
One Impulse Burn Transfers from Circular Orbit One impulse burn from circular orbit analysis. These types of transfers result in an elliptical orbit.
Orbit Circularization Methods for circularizing an elliptical, parabolic, or hyperbolic orbit.
Orbit Shadow Analysis Analysis of period and frequency of a satellite's trajectory through a planet's shadow. Such analysis is important for determining power requirements while solar-based power systems are in the dark.
Sun Synchronous Orbits Analysis of sun synchronous orbits. Orbits of this type are used for national intelligence assets and missions such as Lunar Prospector.