corous

A most interesting find, sir. Thank you.

Calling on my fellow Kerbalnauts with the Real Solar System mod (and possibly other realism mods for existing rockets / launchers etc.) for help. This should only take an hour or so of your time. I'm working on a rough simulation on a mission to Alpha Centauri and would like some help. Back of a napkin calculation says it should be possible with existing rockets, I'm also setting the mission up using NASA's General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT), but a second set of eyeballs is always welcome. So, I thought, what better tool than KSP?! The mission is to send a 50kg payload into a direct ascent solar escape trajectory towards Alpha Centauri at 50 km/s, i.e. no gravity-assist trajectory around Jupiter etc. and using chemical rockets only. And don't forget that Alpha Centauri lies outside of the Earth's orbital plane. From GMAT, it looks like it's generally in the southwest with respect to the Earth's axis of rotation. The reason I initially considered a direct ascent escape trajectory is because the target star system is out of the solar system's planetary plane, but you're certainly welcomed to try a gravity assist trajectories via the Moon, Venus or Mercury. The velocity gain from "falling towards" the Sun might indeed be quite significant. So, again, here's the mission parameters: 1. Spacecraft dry mass: 50 kg 2. Min. Velocity (after final burn of upper / kick stage): 50 km/s 3. Existing launch vehicles preferred: Soyuz, Proton M, Delta IV, Atlas V, SpaceX Falcon etc. Please post your results of velocity achieved with the type / fuel mass of launch vehicle used. Thanks in advance, corous

And @Hattivat , thank you for the input, gentlemen. The Pioneer Anomaly seems like more of an engineering oversight, rather than a previously unknown cosmic phenomenon. The thermal recoil force theory and initial modeling error explanations seems to fit the scenario well. So yes, I agree with your point that any miniscule effect can add up to something significant over 26,000+ years (not 40,000 -- that's the Voyager's trip to Gliese 445). But on the same token, the earlier a trackable spacecraft can be launched to "test the water", the better. Isn't it?

Are you sure about this? Sure, the exact conditions in interstellar space is not known. There could be "waves" of radiation pressure due to cosmic rays etc., but the motion of nearby stars should be relatively easy to predict. On a macro scale, they should be more or less Keplerian. Plus, Alpha Centauri is in the same galactic arm as the solar system and all.

An excellent thought. Will test that out. Thank you, sir.

Yes, I do. And, I'm also aware that it will take the Voyager 1 40,000 years to do a 1.7-light-year flyby of Gliese 445 / AC +79 3888, but people are still talking about the flyby itself. I thought the problem I posted originally is an interesting one and worth spending an hour or so if someone on here already has the mods installed. If not, so be it, I'm not holding a gun to anyone's head. As for the merit and economics of the mission itself, maybe I'll be able to convince some financiers. Who knows?

Hi, my fellow Kerbalnauts, I have a favor to ask. I'm working on a rough simulation on a mission to Alpha Centauri and would like some help. Back of a napkin calculation says it should be possible with existing rockets, I'm also setting the mission up using NASA's General Mission Analysis Tool (GMAT), but a second set of eyeballs is always welcome. The mission is to send a 50kg payload into a direct ascent solar escape trajectory towards Alpha Centauri at 50 km/s, i.e. no gravity-assist trajectory around Jupiter etc. and using chemical rockets only. And don't forget that Alpha Centauri lies outside of the Earth's plane of motion. From GMAT, it looks like it's generally in the southwest with respect to the Earth's axis of rotation. To do the simulation in KSP, you will need the Real Solar System mod and possibly other realism mods for existing rockets / launchers etc. So, again, the mission parameters: 1. Spacecraft dry mass: 50 kg 2. Min. Velocity (after final burn of upper / kick stage): 50 km/s 3. Existing launch vehicles preferred: Soyuz, Proton M, Delta IV, Atlas V, SpaceX Falcon etc. Please post your results of velocity achieved with the type / fuel mass of launch vehicle used. Thanks in advance, corous