fowlplaychiken Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 Hey guys:Theoretically I think a free return should be possible (albeit slow). Has anyone calculated the kerbal --> Mun --> Minmus --> Kerbal free return trajectory? Or even just the Kerbal --> Mun --> Minmus trajectory to slingshot to Minmus from the mun? It should save fuel and would be fun, besides, and I know it *should* be possible. I suck at math however >< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fowlplaychiken Posted July 12, 2012 Author Share Posted July 12, 2012 Also, I saw this on youtube: Seems to also confirm the theory although I have found no threads or links on a how-to or the math involved.In real life we have a system of inter-system 'highways' formed by overlapping SOI\'s. You can get all the way to the outer planets by slingshotting from one SOI to the other. It is slow and indirect but works IRL for cheap unmanned missions to the outer planets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanamonde Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 By passing in front of the first body, it starts off slowing you down. But perhaps by lingering low in its gravity well, you end up with a net gain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VincentMcConnell Posted July 12, 2012 Share Posted July 12, 2012 First, the planet is called 'Kerbin', not 'Kerbal'.I know how to do a Lunar Free Return. It\'s simple. Set up your TLI so that your final Apokee is 14,000KM. You\'ll make a really distant pass from the Mun\'s far side, but it should drop you right back into the atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
closette Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 By accident I have swung around the Mun and been headed straight towards Minmus. But Minmus\' gravity is so small that I doubt it can turn you around back to Kerbin. All my Mun-Minmus swing-bys would have ended up escaping Kerbin without some kind of intervention. One way to see if it\'s possible though would be to try the reverse - from the outer Kerbin system, swing by Minmus towards the Mun and see if that would deflect you back home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maltesh Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Here\'s one that hits Minmus first.http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?action=showpost&postid=405532325 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PakledHostage Posted July 13, 2012 Share Posted July 13, 2012 Check out the Mun/Minmus Gravity Slingshot challenge. I submitted two entries for that challenge. The first (faster) trip was a learning experience. The second time, I managed to do what you\'re asking about using only 70 m/s delta-V. I tried to be specific about how I did it so that others could replicate my results if they wanted to try. Hopefully there\'s enough there to answer your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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