{"id":9660,"date":"2015-01-16T00:26:05","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T05:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9660"},"modified":"2015-01-16T00:27:28","modified_gmt":"2015-01-16T05:27:28","slug":"space-art-led-belbruno-to-better-space-travel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=9660","title":{"rendered":"Space art led Belbruno to better space travel"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edward Belbruno<\/a>\u00a0has become well known for developing new orbital mechanics techniques that allow\u00a0spacecraft to move about the solar system more efficiently, i.e with less fuel than a conventional approach. See, for example,\u00a0From chaos, a new order – The Space Review – Mar. 6.200 6<\/a>\u00a0–<\/p>\n

This sensitivity to initial conditions may be a challenge to theoreticians, but it provides an opportunity for those who want to leverage it in spaceflight applications. One of the first to explore the potential of chaotic dynamics in spaceflight is Ed Belbruno, a visiting researcher at Princeton University. Working as an orbit analyst at JPL twenty years ago\u2014new to the field of astrodynamics but with a doctorate in mathematics\u2014he looked to alternatives to the traditional method to sending spacecraft to the Moon and planets. That approach, a Hohmann transfer orbit from the Earth and a \u201ccapture maneuver\u201d at the destination, works well, but requires a high change in velocity, or delta-v, to perform the capture maneuver. Barring the availability of alternative deceleration techniques, like aerobreaking, this delta-v requirement translates into substantial propellant, and thus a heavier spacecraft.<\/em><\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Belbruno asked if there was a way for a spacecraft to perform a \u201cballistic capture\u201d maneuver: to arrive at the Moon, for example, on a specific trajectory that would allow it to enter orbit without any delta-v at all. While his JPL colleagues at the time were convinced that it wasn\u2019t possible, Belbruno studied the problem and found there was a way, as he put it, \u201cto slowly creep up\u201d on the Moon, arriving such that all the forces were balanced, allowing the spacecraft to go into orbit rather than escaping from or crashing into the Moon.<\/em><\/p>\n

Belbruno first proposed taking advantage of \u201cweak stability boundary theory\u201d in 1986 for a proposed small lunar orbiter that could be launched from a Get Away Special canister in the shuttle\u2019s cargo bay. …<\/em><\/p>\n

Belbruno<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0is also an artist and he says the act of painting helped him develop ideas\u00a0like using the\u00a0weak stability boundary technique\u00a0:\u00a0Painting Our Way to the Moon – Space.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0 am both a scientist and an artist. The paintings that I create have given rise to interesting scientific discoveries. The paintings don’t just inspire me to pursue a particular avenue of study \u2014 they literally have the key within them to help me figure out how to solve complex scientific problems. The process of how this occurs is somewhat mysterious and has happened to me many times, and recently gave rise to a revolutionary new route to the Moon.<\/em><\/p>\n

Check out some of his art at\u00a0The Cosmic Art of Edward Belbruno (Gallery) – space.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n