Long burn times ship [RO/RSS]

[Mr. Sandman]

I've built a big ship for a manned travel to Mars.It's powered by 3 nuclear engines with Liquid Hydrogen as fuel.The complessive burn time is around 2 hours and the fuel is just enough to the whole trip to Mars and return ( no errors or DeltaV waste possible).So , what's the best way to save as much DeltaV as possible in maneuvers  by doing them efficently?Are there any rules that I have to know on how to save fuel?

The ship plays a lot on throwing away empty tanks ( life support and fuel), squeezing DeltaV to make the vehicle lighter.Start mass : 600 tons. End mass (from Mars to Earth): 150-200 tons.

[regex]

A series of periapsis kicks (Mangalyaan maneuver) is probably the best option.

If you prefer a more manual method and perhaps see the math:

If you want a mod for it:

 

Edited July 25, 2017 by regex

[Aegolius13]

You might be able to save a little delta v by doing a gravity assist around the moon on your way out, but you have to hit it pretty accurately to make it worthwhile. Periapsis kicks are a good idea whether or not you plan to try this. 

 

[Mr. Sandman]

17 hours ago, regex said:

A series of periapsis kicks (Mangalyaan maneuver) is probably the best option.

If you prefer a more manual method and perhaps see the math:

If you want a mod for it:

 

Thanks a lot for the precious infos , I'll surely give a look at the math and try the mod.