Development of a Long-term Earth-Mars Cycling Vessel
President/CEO
StarGate Research Laboratory - PI, Inc.
stargate_research@yahoo.com
AA Mardon
Spacecraft developed for extended-duration cycling between the Earth and Mars
can represent a direction toward development of a Òclipper shipÓ for
colonization, exploration and transportation of personnel and cargoes using the
same components for structure, shielding, coolant, and fuel as other ships and
space platforms. This type of long-term, interplanetary spacecraft represents
an extension not only of current technology, but also a means to create systems
destined for service in terms of years, which is a critical parameter for
optimizing the performance of interplanetary and potential interstellar
spacecraft. A quantitative analysis is presented of the kinematics of a single
stage interplanetary cycling ship. In the limiting case of a spacecraft on a
continual mission with no deceleration at the either aphelion or perihelion, a
dead-weight fraction of 10-3, with the brennschluss velocity of 3.2m/s
(providing a consistent 0.6-0.8 g of artificial gravity to its occupants) would
enable ÒcontactÓ between Earth and Mars on an average of every 275 days.