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Since getting that close takes a lot of DeltaV and I was curious: >The Parker Solar Probe mission design uses repeated gravity assists at Venus to incrementall
by remarkEon 5y ago
Since getting that close takes a lot of DeltaV and I was curious:
>The Parker Solar Probe mission design uses repeated gravity assists at Venus to incrementally decrease its orbital perihelion to achieve a final altitude (above the surface) of approximately 8.5 solar radii, or about 6×106 km (3.7×106 mi; 0.040 au).[35] The spacecraft trajectory will include seven Venus flybys over nearly seven years to gradually shrink its elliptical orbit around the Sun, for a total of 24 orbits.[1] The near Sun radiation environment is predicted to cause spacecraft charging effects, radiation damage in materials and electronics, and communication interruptions, so the orbit will be highly elliptical with short times spent near the Sun.[34]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_Probe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_Solar_Probe
- dmurray 5y agoHighly elliptical orbits are cheaper to achieve anyway, right? You can get into one directly from your Venus gravity assists, and not have to keep precious fuel to transfer to a circular orbit later on.
- ceejayoz 5y agoYes. As a bonus in this particular case, it limits your time in the higher temperatures of the corona; the spacecraft gets time to radiate heat and cool off before the next skim through.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- marcodiego 5y ago> 6×106 km Please... 6×10^6 km
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- Kye 5y agoI don't know why the wiki doesn't just say six million kilometers.
- juloo 5y agoOr 6 Gigameters.
- actually_a_dog 5y agoScientific notation makes it easier to indicate how many significant digits you have in the measurement.
- mensetmanusman 5y agoOr 6e6 km :)
- djxfade 5y agoWhy not just write 636 km?
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- chias 5y agoIt was meant to be 6×10^6 -- as a quick soundness check, the sun's radius is significantly more than 75 km (636 / 8.5) -- though I agree it would probably have been more reasonable to just write "6 million km"