Aldrin 4:3(2)- establishment trajectory (Rogers 2015 Table 4)

aldrin-4-3-2-establishment · source: literature · validation: V0

Signature

Bodies: E-M
Primary: Sun (default — heliocentric)
Sequence (canonical): E-M
Sense: outbound
Orbit class: Precursor
precursor MGA (one-shot insertion into a cycler)
Cycler class: single-ellipse
Returns: 1 — finite for epoch-locked classes
Validity window: 2023-01-03 → 2023-06-13
Launch epoch: 2023-01-03T00:00:00Z
Inserts into: Aldrin classic Earth-Mars cycler (outbound / up-escalator, 1 synodic)
Trajectory regime: ballistic
Maintenance ΔV band: unclassified
Model assumption: analytic-ephemeris
Mid-fidelity: real eccentricity / inclination retained; not full N-body.
Period: 4.270 yr (2 × E-M synodic)
Establishment timeline over a 2-synodic period using V-infinity leveraging.
V_∞ leveraging ΔV (establishment): 0.568 km/s
Source ephemeris: STOUR analytic ephemeris
Ephemeris model the source states its numbers were computed against.
Priority date: 2012-08-13

V∞ at encounters

E (encounter 1): 5.51 km/s
Rogers et al. 2012, Table 4, p.7, row Aldrin '4:3(2)-': V∞ flyby = 5.509 km/s (analytic-ephemeris establishment). V∞ launch for the same row = 2.608 km/s (see source_quotes).
M (encounter 2): — (not published)
Rogers 2012 Table 4 tabulates V∞ launch and V∞ flyby (both at the establishment Earth flyby), not a distinct V∞ at Mars for this row; left null.

Orbit elements (heliocentric)

Semi-major axis a: — AU
Eccentricity e: —
Perihelion: 0.983 AU
Aphelion: 2.229 AU
Inclination: —°

perihelion_au/aphelion_au SOURCED: Rogers et al. 2012, Table 4, p.7, row Aldrin '4:3(2)-': Periapse = 0.983 AU, Apoapse = 2.229 AU (analytic-ephemeris establishment epoch). a_au/e not directly tabulated by Rogers Table 4 (not computed per golden-test discipline).

Orbit view 2.5D ecliptic projection

spacecraft: analytic-ephemeris (real e/i retained) planets: J2000 osculating ellipse (Standish & Williams Table 1) clock: idealized phase clock (no epoch) orientation: coplanar-idealized (no Ω/ω published — in-plane ellipse) encounters: time-true on the idealized phase clock (real mean motions, phase chosen so the geometry's encounters occur)

— — planet orbit (true J2000 ellipse) ——— cycler ellipse

Legs (trajectory segments)

E → M: 161 d, 0 revs
Rogers 2012 Table 4 (analytic ephemeris): TOF from Earth flyby to Mars = 161 days for the 4:3(2)- variant.
M → E: (TOF not published)
Return Mars->Earth leg of the establishment timeline; ToF / rev / per-segment (a,e) not isolated in the accessible Rogers 2012 Table 4 sub-variant rows. Tracked in data_gaps.

Definition status

incomplete — core fields missing or known-unknowns tracked below

Known-unknowns (2)

Values we expect to exist but have not yet filled (distinct from "not applicable"). Tracked per upstream docs/spec.md §16.6.4.

trajectory.segments[ret-me].tof_days [unknown]
Return M->E leg ToF not isolated for this Aldrin establishment sub-variant in the accessible Rogers 2012 Table 4 rows.

source: Rogers/Hughes/Longuski/Aldrin 2012, AIAA 2012-4746, Table 4
trajectory.segments[out-em].a_au [unknown]
Per-segment establishment-epoch (a,e) not tabulated (orbit_elements.a_au/e null per spec §16.2 pending STOUR log verification).

source: Rogers/Hughes/Longuski/Aldrin 2012, AIAA 2012-4746

Primary citation

Rogers, B. A. et al. (2015). Establishing cycler trajectories between Earth and Mars. Acta Astronautica 112:114-125 (2015).

DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2015.03.002

orbit source Rogers et al. 2012, Table 1 orbit fidelity analytic-ephemeris V∞ source Rogers et al. 2012, Table 1 V∞ fidelity analytic-ephemeris

Corroborating sources

Rogers, B. A. et al. (2012). Preliminary Analysis of Establishing Cycler Trajectories Between Earth and Mars via V-Infinity Leveraging. AIAA 2012-4746 / AAS Hilton Head 2013 (conference precursors of Rogers 2015 Acta Astro). DOI: 10.2514/6.2012-4746
Conference-paper precursor of the Rogers 2015 Acta Astro archival version; same Table 4 values.

Notes

Captures the practical reality of flying an Aldrin cycler in a real ephemeris. The 4:3 notation indicates the spacecraft completes 4 orbits while Earth completes 3. The variant uses V-infinity leveraging manoeuvres to push the idealized circular-coplanar trajectory into the eccentric real solar system. Reclassified 2026-06-17 from orbit_class=cycler to orbit_class=precursor_mga: this is a one-time V-infinity-leveraging insertion trajectory that places a spacecraft INTO the steady-state Aldrin outbound cycler, not a periodic cycler in its own right. The inserts_into pointer resolves to aldrin-classic-em-k1-outbound. Source elevated from Rogers 2012 (conference) to Rogers 2015 (Acta Astro archival) digest (docs/notes/2026-06-17-digest-rogers-2015.md).

Source quotes (per-field provenance)

Every numerical value in this entry traces to a verbatim or paraphrased quote from a cited source.

vinf_kms_at_encounters[0].vinf_kms: Rogers et al. 2012, Table 4, p.7, row Aldrin '4:3(2)-': V∞ flyby = 5.509 km/s.
v_infinity_leveraging_dv_kms: Rogers et al. 2012, Table 4, p.7, row Aldrin '4:3(2)-': ΔV_DSM = 0.568 km/s.
orbit_elements.perihelion_au: Rogers et al. 2012, Table 4, p.7, row Aldrin '4:3(2)-': Periapse = 0.983 AU.
orbit_elements.aphelion_au: Rogers et al. 2012, Table 4, p.7, row Aldrin '4:3(2)-': Apoapse = 2.229 AU.
period.years: Rogers et al. 2012: the (2) notation indicates a 2-synodic establishment timeline (4.27 yr).