AAS 98-183

ASTEROID SELECTION AND MISSION DESIGN FOR SPACEDEVCO'S NEAR-EARTH ASTEROID PROSPECTOR

C. R. Cassell - UCSD and Lockheed-Martin Missiles and Space Corp.; A. M. Schneider, R. Gulman, R. Lee, E. Estey - University of California at San Diego

Abstract

Near-Earth Asteroid Prospector will be the first privately financed deep-space mission; the first of a series from SpaceDev Corporation. The requirement to make a profit on the science data set dictates formidable challenges for the preliminary design team of students and mentors at CalSpace/UCSD. Nevertheless, a number of rendezvous opportunities exist within these constraints of cost, timeline, delta-V, weight, power, etc. This paper focuses on criteria and modeling tools for asteroid selection, on launch vehicle selection and escape trajectory planning, and on the rendezvous and station-keeping strategy.

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