Galileo VEEGA flown trajectory (D'Amario-Bright-Wolf 1992)

damario-1992-galileo-veega · source: literature · validation: V0

Signature

Bodies: E-V-E-Gaspra-E-Ida-J
Primary: Sun (default — heliocentric)
Sequence (canonical): E-V-E-Gaspra-E-Ida-J
Sense: n/a
Orbit class: Tour
MGA tour (one-shot terminal arrival)
Cycler class: multi-arc
Returns: 1 — finite for epoch-locked classes
Validity window: 1989-10-18 → 1995-12-08
Launch epoch: 1989-10-18T16:54:00Z
Trajectory regime: ballistic
Maintenance ΔV band: unclassified
Model assumption: analytic-ephemeris
Mid-fidelity: real eccentricity / inclination retained; not full N-body.
Period: not strictly periodic (no published period)
Source ephemeris: JPL pre-launch design ephemeris + post-launch TCM-corrected (D'Amario 1992 §2.3); approx DE-200 era
Ephemeris model the source states its numbers were computed against.
Priority date: 1989-10-18

V∞ at encounters

E (encounter 1): 3.80 km/s
D'Amario 1992 p.25: launch C3 in [13, 17] km^2/s^2 (IUS-limited; nominal ~14.5); sqrt(C3) -> V_inf magnitude ~3.6-4.1 km/s. Approximate (range-derived); D'Amario et al. 1989 AAS 89-431 has the actual flown C3 if a tighter value is needed.
V (encounter 2): 6.20 km/s
D'Amario 1992 Fig 3 (p.28); Venus flyby 10 Feb 1990 05:59 UTC; closest-approach altitude 16,123 km; latitude -40.8 deg; V_rel = 8.2 km/s; |V_inf| = 6.2 km/s. Venus added 2.3 km/s to heliocentric V.
E (encounter 3): 8.90 km/s
D'Amario 1992 Fig 5 (p.32); Earth-1 flyby 8 Dec 1990 20:35 UTC; closest-approach altitude 960 km; lat 25 deg, lon 63 W; V_rel = 13.7 km/s; |V_inf| = 8.9 km/s; V_inf rotated 48 deg; heliocentric period 1 yr -> 2 yr (k=2 E-E resonance).
Gaspra (encounter 4): 8.00 km/s
D'Amario 1992 §2.3.4 (p.32) and Table I (p.37); Gaspra (asteroid 951) flyby 29 Oct 1991; closest approach 1600 km from center; V_rel = 8.0 km/s. Gravity-assist negligible (asteroid mass too low) - science flyby only. Note Johnson-Yeates-Young 1992 (sister SSR paper) Note Added in Proof confirms 1600 km.
E (encounter 5): 8.90 km/s
D'Amario 1992 Fig 8 (p.35); Earth-2 flyby 8 Dec 1992 15:35 UTC; closest-approach altitude 300 km; lat -34 deg, lon 12 W; V_rel = 14.1 km/s; |V_inf| = 8.9 km/s; V_inf rotated 51 deg; V_helio 35.3 -> 39.0 km/s; period now 5.6 yr to Jupiter.
Ida (encounter 6): 12.40 km/s
D'Amario 1992 §2.3.4 (p.36) and Table I (p.37); Ida (asteroid 243) flyby 28 Aug 1993; V_rel = 12.4 km/s; closest-approach altitude TBD at writing (was flown). Gravity-assist negligible - science flyby only.
J (encounter 7): 5.90 km/s
DERIVED: D'Amario 1992 §3.4 (p.45) gives Probe inertial entry speed 59.9 km/s and atmosphere-relative 47.4 km/s. V_inf_J ~ sqrt(V_entry^2 - V_circ_Jupiter^2); JOI dV = 628 m/s (Table VIII). Johnson-Yeates-Young 1992 sister paper does NOT publish Jupiter approach V_inf (verified in digest), so 5.9 km/s is order-of-magnitude derivation, not directly sourced - flagged for any future V2-promotion attention.

Cycle-level identity (multi-arc invariants)

Aphelion ratio (AR): —
Turn ratio (TR): —
Transit times (days): —

Orbit view 2.5D ecliptic projection

spacecraft: analytic-ephemeris (real e/i retained) planets: J2000 osculating ellipse (Standish & Williams Table 1) orientation: coplanar-idealized (no Ω/ω published — in-plane ellipse)

3D view not available for multi-arc trajectories yet. The 3D system can now render a numerically-sampled polyline (n-body or multi-arc), but no sampled trajectory is published for this row — each leg is a separate ellipse with honest gaps where elements are unpublished (the 2D view above shows them). The button will appear here once a sampled path is exported for this trajectory; we never interpolate one from the catalogue's per-leg (a, e).

— — planet orbit (true J2000 ellipse)

Flyby altitudes (minimal-thrust)

Per-flyby periapsis altitude that delivers each encounter's required turn ballistically, capped at the body's safe flyby floor (200 km for Earth/Mars). A flyby sitting at the floor is bend-binding (it needs the deepest safe pass); higher altitudes are gentler flybys that need less turn. · source: sourced

Node	Body	Altitude (km)
0	V	16,123
1	E	960
2	E	300

Definition status

incomplete — core fields missing or known-unknowns tracked below

Primary citation

D'Amario, L. A. et al. (1992). Galileo trajectory design. Space Science Reviews, Vol. 60, No. 1-4, pp. 23-78 (May 1992).

DOI: 10.1007/bf00216849

orbit source derived orbit fidelity analytic-ephemeris V∞ source derived V∞ fidelity analytic-ephemeris

Corroborating sources

Johnson, T. V. et al. (1992). Space Science Reviews Volume on Galileo Mission Overview. Space Science Reviews, Vol. 60, No. 1-4, pp. 3-21 (May 1992).
Companion (sister) paper in the same SSR vol. 60 Galileo issue. Per the deep-read digest: this paper does NOT extend D'Amario's per-flyby V_inf or Jupiter approach V_inf data, but corroborates Venus flyby date (Feb 9 1990 PST = Feb 10 1990 UTC), Probe atmosphere-relative entry speed 48 km/s (vs D'Amario 47.4 km/s), Gaspra 1600 km close-approach (Note Added in Proof), and the 200-day initial orbit period.

Notes

The canonical Galileo VEEGA mga_tour: the textbook Venus-Earth-Earth Gravity-Assist mission archetype for the v4.7 catalogue scope expansion's mga_tour class, joining Tito 2018 (single-flyby ballistic return) and Heaton-Longuski 2003 Uranian tour (multi-arc moon-tour) as the third computed mga_tour row in the catalogue's history. Mission flown (D'Amario 1992 §2 and Table I): * 18 Oct 1989 16:54 UTC: Launch from STS-34 Atlantis with IUS upper stage; C3 = 13-17 km^2/s^2 (IUS-limited, post-Challenger substitution forced VEEGA selection per §2.1). * 10 Feb 1990 05:59 UTC: Venus flyby, alt 16,123 km, V_inf = 6.2 km/s (Fig 3); heliocentric period 1 yr post-flyby. * 8 Dec 1990 20:35 UTC: Earth-1 flyby, alt 960 km, V_inf = 8.9 km/s (Fig 5); V_inf rotated 48 deg; heliocentric period 2 yr. * 29 Oct 1991: Gaspra (asteroid 951) flyby, alt 1600 km, V_rel = 8.0 km/s - science target on the 2-yr E1-E2 resonant arc. * 8 Dec 1992 15:35 UTC: Earth-2 flyby, alt 300 km, V_inf = 8.9 km/s (Fig 8); V_inf rotated 51 deg; period 5.6 yr to Jupiter. * 28 Aug 1993: Ida (asteroid 243) flyby, V_rel = 12.4 km/s - science. * 7 Dec 1995 17:46 UTC: Io flyby (alt 1000 km) immediately before JOI. * 8 Dec 1995 00:27 UTC: JOI burn begins, dV = 628 m/s (retrograde), perijove ~4 R_J, initial orbital period ~200 days. Aggregate gravity-assist dV imparted by the three planetary flybys: 18.3 km/s (Summary p.75). Interplanetary deterministic dV: 102 m/s; JOI 628 m/s; PJR 370 m/s. Admitted under the v4.7 catalogue-scope expansion (2026-06-17) as orbit_class=mga_tour; the third mga_tour row after Tito 2018 and Heaton-Longuski 2003. Source: D'Amario-Bright-Wolf 1992 SSR 60(1-4):23-78, DOI 10.1007/bf00216849. Verdict note: (this commit); deep-read digest: docs/notes/2026-06-17-digest-damario-1992-galileo.md. Sister-paper cross-check (Johnson-Yeates-Young 1992): digest docs/notes/2026-06-17-digest-johnson-yeates-young-1992.md. Asteroid flybys (Gaspra + Ida) are included in bodies + V_inf list per their published role in the actual flown trajectory; their gravity is negligible (no orbit change) so they are science targets, not GA legs. The Jovian satellite tour (Galileo's 10-orbit Jupiter-system tour with 13 satellite encounters, D'Amario Table V) is structurally a SEPARATE mga_tour and out of this row's scope (the V_inf at Jupiter-system satellites is not published in D'Amario 1992; Table V publishes altitude + latitude only). KNOWN_CORPUS impact: adds a new D'Amario-Bright-Wolf 1992 anchor in src/cyclerfinder/search/literature_check.py with the SSR DOI; the pre-existing "Diehl-Belbruno-Roberts Galileo VEEGA design (1986)" anchor is retained for the pre-Challenger concept-design epoch (the 1986 paper is a different, distinct work) with an UNVERIFIED tag on the Belbruno co-author attribution (D'Amario 1992 reference list does NOT cite Belbruno; Johnson-Yeates-Young 1992 reference list also does NOT cite Belbruno - digest §6). The Belbruno attribution warrants a separate verification effort against the original 1986 Diehl-Roberts- D'Amario citation.

Source quotes (per-field provenance)

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

launch_epoch: D'Amario 1992 p.27: 'On October 18, 1989, at 16:54 UTC (09:54 PST), the Galileo spacecraft and IUS were successfully launched from the Kennedy Space Center.'
validity_window.start: Same as launch_epoch (D'Amario 1992 p.27).
validity_window.end: D'Amario 1992 Table I (p.37): 'Jupiter Orbit Insertion... December 8, 1995... 00:27 UTC' (start of JOI burn); end of validity_window taken as JOI completion (start time used as conservative approximation given the burn lasted ~49 min).
vinf_kms_at_encounters.0.vinf_kms: D'Amario 1992 p.25: 'C3 =... 13 to 17 km^2/s^2.' sqrt(13)=3.6, sqrt(17)=4.1 -> V_inf ~3.8 km/s nominal.
vinf_kms_at_encounters.1.vinf_kms: D'Amario 1992 Fig 3 (p.28): 'Venus flyby... |V_inf| = 6.2 km/s.'
vinf_kms_at_encounters.2.vinf_kms: D'Amario 1992 Fig 5 (p.32): 'Earth-1 flyby... |V_inf| = 8.9 km/s.'
vinf_kms_at_encounters.3.vinf_kms: D'Amario 1992 §2.3.4 (p.32): 'Gaspra... closest approach 1600 km from center... V_rel = 8.0 km/s.'
vinf_kms_at_encounters.4.vinf_kms: D'Amario 1992 Fig 8 (p.35): 'Earth-2 flyby... |V_inf| = 8.9 km/s.'
vinf_kms_at_encounters.5.vinf_kms: D'Amario 1992 §2.3.4 (p.36) and Table I (p.37, 'Asteroid 243 Ida'): V_rel = 12.4 km/s.
vinf_kms_at_encounters.6.vinf_kms: DERIVED from D'Amario 1992 §3.4 (p.45): 'Inertial entry speed is 59.9 km/s'; V_inf_J = sqrt(V_entry^2 - V_circ_Jupiter^2) gives ~5-6 km/s. NOT directly sourced; Johnson-Yeates-Young 1992 sister paper also does not publish Jupiter approach V_inf (verdict).
n_returns: D'Amario 1992 §2 confirms single Earth launch and single Jupiter capture (JOI); n_returns=1 per v4.7 mga_tour invariant.