Interplanetary Flight

Transition flights between planets are studied in the concept of spheres of influences by patching conic section orbits. The significance of and differences between Hill’s sphere and Laplace spheres are evaluated. Departure and arrival orbits are studied with respect to planet phasing as a problem which adds to the Hohmann transfer. Passive and powered flyby at a planet is analyzed in planetocentric and heliocentric reference frames and in B-plane geometry to understand how flybys can be exploited to change orbital elements for deep space missions.