A mission to rendezvous with Anteros

Abstract

A modest mission to rendezvous with the earth-approaching asteroid, Anteros, is studied. A 10-day launch window of May 16 to 25, 1985 is suggested. The times of flight range from 402 to 455 days and the launch energies per unit mass range from 32.9 to 37.3 km/sq sec. Rendezvous can be achieved with a postlaunch change in velocity of from 562 to 1001 m/sec. A mass of at least 615 kg can be delivered into orbit about the asteroid by the Titan 34D/IUS Two-Stage with 50 to 100 kg available for scientific instrumentation. The 1985 opportunity is compared to the 1987 trajectory identified by Niehoff (1977). Rendezvous opportunities are examined in the space of launch and arrival true anomalies.